Shots of Trouble
by GeekBastard23
Summary: "He tried to remember the details from last night. No, screw the details, he would have been glad, if he could have come up with anything, really." Tony wakes up one morning after clubbing and can't quite remember what has happened.
1. Too Little Sunrise

**A/N: This is a little something that I have been thinkin about for quite a while now. The idea might not be actually new but I'd be glad if you gave it a try. Read & Review please ;-)**

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_**Chapter One: Too little sunrise**_

He turned around and immediately regretted that he had done so. It seemed like every bone, every muscle in his body was aching. But that pain was nothing in comparison to the one in his head. He could literally feel his brain shifting inside of it. He held his hands to his head, gently rubbing his temples but that only made it worse. He let his hands fall again. He was now laying flat on his back, trying not to move more than really necessary. He tried to figure out what day it was but couldn't even figure out whether it was night or day as his blinds were closed. He plucked up all his courage to turn around again to grab his cell phone that was usually lying on the nightstand. Again, his head gave him hell and he was disappointed that there was no phone to be seen. He groaned. He slowly sat up and then bent down to where his jeans were lying on the ground. He searched the pockets until he finally found what he was looking for. He tapped on his phone and the brightness of the display hurt his eyes.

_Damn._

As he looked at the date and more importantly at the day, he almost sprang up, immediately realizing that it had been a foolish idea to do so. His head was spinning now and he had trouble standing up. As his head was slowly stopping making him dizzy, he walked, no scratch that, he swayed to the bathroom.  
Hopefully, a shower would make him look more presentable or at least a little better than he was feeling now. He looked at the mirror for a short moment and froze. He had a long scratch on his left cheek. It was still bright red, indicating that it had happened only a few hours before. He racked his brains but couldn't come up with anything that could have caused that. He subtly shook his head, he had to stop drinking like that…

Standing in the shower with cold water dripping on his hair, on his shoulders, he tried to remember details from last night. No, screw the details, he would have been glad, if he could have come up with anything really.  
He remembered going to a club, already having a buzz on due to the four beers he had been drinking alone in his apartment. He hadn't been able to put the finger on it but he just had to get out yesterday. Work had been driving him crazy, Gibbs had been in a weird mean mood, Ziva had been slightly absent-minded the whole day and he was sure that it had to do with mysterious Miami-guy. He had considered asking McGee to drink a few beers with him but even he had been freaking him out by just being McGee actually.  
So he had just settled down to drinking alone and as he had been feeling the buzz, he had just decided to hit the clubs. He knew that he wasn't the youngest anymore but he had still his fair share with the ladies and why should it be possibly different now?

He remembered standing in line in front of the _Lux Lounge_ waiting for his turn to go in and pondering whether he should risk showing his NCIS badge to get in but he had decided against it. Though the night was pretty cold, there had been no need to hurry as he thought that the cool air would do him some good. He also was able to recall that he had chatted with some girls, who couldn't have been older than 25, and he had felt reassured as they were eyeing him just as though he was candy. Once inside the club, his memories seemed to be nonexistent. All he could recollect was that he had ordered a beer and a few tequilas but after that there was only darkness. He couldn't remember how long he had stayed there, with whom he was with or how he got home, got into his apartment, got into his bed. He just didn't have a clue, not the slightest.

-x-

As he stepped out of the shower, he still wasn't feeling very well. He hurriedly dressed and then drove to work, already thinking about which excuse he should use to explain his tardiness.

But as he arrived there, he was only greeted by a stressed-looking McGee, who only shot him a nasty look but didn't say anything. Gibbs and Ziva were nowhere in sight.  
"Where is anyone?" He asked, as he sat down, still trying to move as slowly as possible.  
"Gibbs is in MTAC and Ziva has called in sick. So has Abby. And you're late. Do I have to tell who how much work we have?"  
"McComplaint, shut up already," he answered, rubbing his temples again.  
"What's wrong with Ziva and Abby?"  
"I don't know. Guessing from Abby's voice as she called me earlier, she has been drinking, though she wouldn't admit it. Ziva has just written an email that she's suffering from the flu."  
"Okay."

That was slightly odd, considering that Ziva never missed a day of work, never had as much as a cold as far as he could recall. But maybe there was a first time for everything.  
He already regretted coming here in the first place. His head was giving him hell, his vision was still slightly blurred and his brain function didn't seem to work properly. It seemed like it was taking him forever to just turn on his computer, browsing through his emails. As he had just decided to wait for Gibbs to tell him that he had caught the same thing as Ziva did and had to go home, the older man walked down the stairs, barking a good morning to him and before Tony was able to reply anything, he felt himself getting head slapped, causing his brain to shift once again and he couldn't help but groan.  
"DiNozzo," Gibbs said grimly. "Don't even think about going home. You stink like you've drunk all tequila that is in Mexico and being drunk is no excuse for running late or going home."  
"Right, Boss," he just answered sheepishly, turning his attention back to the screen.

The minutes were going by so slowly that Tony thought his watch must have stopped. He hadn't gotten any work done by lunchtime and he was glad as Gibbs sent him down to autopsy to bring something to Ducky. After a long and kind of painful talk to Ducky, he was leaning his head against the cold wall of the elevator and found it oddly soothing. He closed his eyes for a few seconds…

-x-

_"Well, well. Look who's here, Ziva! The one and only Anthony DiNozzo!"  
Tony turned around carefully, his hand gripping the edge of the bar, in order not to fall over. There was definitely too much tequila and too little sunrise in that Tequila Sunrise he had been drinking.  
"Abs," he finally said, before he was being pulled into a firm hug.  
He wasn't exactly sure whether he liked Ziva and Abby being there, clearly salting his game with the girl he had just been talking to. And indeed, she gave him a disgruntled look and then disappeared onto the dance floor. Tony sighed but didn't really mind, he had to admit. He still had the company of two lovely ladies…_

-x-

He opened his eyes again, feeling slightly confused. So he had been out with Ziva and Abby last night. That would help. He could just ask them what happened then. Maybe they would be able to fill some of his memory gaps. He slowly made his way up to the bullpen again, already dreading the tasks that Gibbs would lumber him with.


	2. A DiNozzo Special

**A/N: Thank you, thank you for your reviews, alerts and favorites for this story! :)  
I hope you are not disappointed by that next chapter.**

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_**Chapter Two: A DiNozzo special**_

At the end of the day, Tony couldn't help but think that it was one of the worst days in his life. Maybe not the worst, realizing that he wouldn't be able to play basketball in college had been probably worse, but today had just been horrible. Gibbs was not only mad at him at being so wasted on a work night but he was also mad at Ziva and Abby, though he didn't know that they had been out, too. But Gibbs wouldn't be Gibbs, if he knew at least something.  
Tony had tried to keep himself as busy as possible without letting his head implode and without thinking too much about the night before. He had had mental blanks before but nothing like that. He couldn't remember more at least a few hours, he knew that. And what bothered him most of all, was that he had no recollection about what happened to his face. If he had been in a fight, he would surely remember, wouldn't he?

-x-

As he left work, he had made a plan. He would swing by Abby's place and just ask her. It surely couldn't be that bad, right? Just a fun night out with two of his friends and a little too much alcohol. After all, they had done it before.

He had to knock a few times before he could finally hear footsteps in Abby's apartment. As she opened the door, Tony couldn't help but stare at her. She looked worse than dead. She was even paler than usually, her hair was messy and her eyes red. In short, she looked exactly like he was feeling.  
"What are you doing here?" She asked surprised and oddly enough she was avoiding eye contact.  
He quickly rummaged in his bag and held up a few items.  
"I thought I'd bring by the DiNozzo Defibrillator because I surely need it and I thought maybe you would, too. It's Tabasco sauce, salt, lemons and water. A DiNozzo family tradition for fighting a hangover."

Abby gave him a weak smile and let him in. Her apartment was completely dark, not a light was switched on and she had closed the blinds. Part of Tony was glad about that as he wouldn't have to see the casket where she was usually sleeping in. He sat down beside her on the couch, carefully mixing his DiNozzo special. As he handed it to Abby, she grimaced at him.  
"Tony, my wish to die is not that strong. This smells disgusting."  
"Just try it, trust me," he smirked at her and downed his glass in one swig.

Abby finally copied his action and pulled a face that made Tony grin slightly.  
"So, why exactly are you here?" Abby asked after she had regained her composure.  
"Uh, well… I'm having trouble remembering parts of last night."  
"What exactly don't you remember?"  
"Well, I do remember that the three of us met at the club but after that… I don't remember anything," he grinned sheepishly.  
"Oh, yes, you were really wasted. I have never seen you like that before."

Tony looked at her now. He wasn't sure if he hadn't just imagined it or if his drunken mind was playing tricks on him but did Abby just sound relieved? Relieved that he didn't remember? He subtly shook his head and dashed his thoughts away again. He was obviously getting paranoid…

"So, help me out, please?"  
"I wish I could, Tony. But I didn't stay long with you there. We just drank a few more of those evil tequilas and then I left you alone again. You were really mad at me because apparently I 'salted your game' – whatever that means – with that girl. I tried to explain that she was, well, much too young for you anyway and in the end you agreed."  
"I did what? I'm not old," Tony jumped in, playfully being upset.  
"Yeah, you did," Abby grinned now for the first time but still didn't look at him, "after that everything was fine though. We toasted to a fun night out. But I had to go then. I was already feeling nauseous and I didn't want to end up hugging the toilet bowl all night. So, I left you and Ziva alone there. It must have been around one o'clock, I guess."

Tony racked his brain but couldn't remember anything what Abby told him. He was disappointed. He had hoped that Abby would tell him more than that. But obviously he now had to ask Ziva for details and somehow he didn't want to do that. After all, they were still Ziva and Tony, the two people who would just stare at each other, silently communicating without having to say anything…

"What did you do to your face by the way?" Abby diverted his thoughts.  
"If I only knew," Tony rubbed his temples again.

-x-

A while later, as he was about to enter his own apartment, he couldn't help but feel exhausted. He had known hangovers before but nothing like this. It was already ten o'clock at night and he was still fighting the headache but it seemed to be a lost battle. All he could think of was a hot shower now and then his bed to maybe sleep it off. The visit at Abby's had brought him nothing but more confusion.

He slowly walked into his bedroom in order to get himself a fresh pair of PJs but then stopped dead in his tracks, as he looked at the room more closely. He had missed stuff in the morning obviously as he had hurried to get to work. The room was just a mess. His clothes were scattered around everywhere, two bottles of red wine were standing on the small table that stood in the corner. One glass was standing beside them and another had obviously fallen off the table as flinders were lying on the ground.  
Sighing, he bent down to collect the pieces, carefully avoiding to get cut.  
_What a mess_.  
He looked around again but couldn't find any evidence of who the other person was that he had been drinking the wine with. He hoped that he had been having fun at least, drinking one of the most expensive wines that he had.  
_What a waste._  
He decided to skip the shower and instead go straight to bed. Sleep would do him some good and he could clean up the room tomorrow, too. As he was about to lie down, something cold and metallic that was pressing against his back made him sit up again. As he turned around to look at the thing that was hidden under the covers, his pulse quickened.

No, that couldn't be true, could it?  
He must be imagining things.  
How wasted could a person actually be?  
No, he wouldn't have…  
But there it was. He was holding it right in his hands.  
Abby's dog collar.


	3. A Tony Sandwich, Goths and Candies

**A/N: After fighting my very own New-Years-Hangover, I finally finished with the next chapter :-D  
Thanks again for the nice reviews and the Alerts, keep them coming please, I love them...**

**Oh, and yeah, Happy New Year to all of you :-)**

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_**Chapter Three: A Tony-Sandwich, Goths and Candies**_

_No, he wouldn't have…  
But there it was. He was holding it right in his hands.  
Abby's dog collar._

_No, no, no_.  
This couldn't have happened. If it had, he would have to quit his job, McGee would kill him and worst of all, he would lose the one female friend that he ever had. There had to be another explanation why Abby's dog collar was in his bed. He surely hadn't had sex with her.  
He just… wouldn't, would he? She was like a sister to him, like the favorite sister. He couldn't have been drunk enough to do that.

He tried to remember anything that had to do with her, that had to do with him going home. But there was still nothing. What he did remember, however, was that Abby had been avoiding eye-contact in her apartment, hadn't she? So maybe he hadn't been paranoid after all. He laid back again, already half expecting to find yet another remnant from last night but luckily only felt the cushions underneath him.  
He closed his eyes for a few moments.

-x-

"_Come on, Abby! You can't go home now. It's just starting to be fun! Come on, one more dance?"  
He shouted over the blaring music, while holding Abby's elbow in order to not let her go.  
Ziva, who was standing right beside them, merely smirked at him, her eyes already a bit glazed over. She was leaning lightly against his shoulder, obviously even being a ninja didn't stop you getting drunk from tequilas.  
"Okay, Tony. Just one more dance but then I'm gone. And," Abby continued, grinning broadly, "we'll make a Tony-Sandwich. I don't want Ziva to dance with that Goth-Guy any longer."  
"Couldn't agree more."  
Tony said with the typical DiNozzo-smile playing his lips, earning himself a soft pinch on his shoulder from Ziva.  
She didn't argue though, instead she and Abby took one of his hands each and dragged him back onto the dance floor. _

-x-

Tony opened his eyes again and felt his cheeks getting hot. So, he had actually begged Abby to stay with them. But that didn't mean anything, right? After all, Ziva had still been there. He sighed again at the thought that he had to talk to her.

Especially, about _that_. They had been getting along so damn well recently. He got used to her again, to her teasing, to her meaningful deep looks that she was giving him from time to time, he was even getting used to their tension again. He had to admit that there was always a weird kind of knot around his stomach whenever she had mentioned Mystery-Miami-Guy but Ziva had always insisted that he was just a friend and every fiber of his being wanted to believe that she hadn't lied to him. He knew that she had probably just done that - lie to him - but he wouldn't admit it.

He sighed, if he would ask her anything about last night, he would probably destroy their dynamic once again. And he didn't want to let that happen…  
He closed his eyes again, thinking about what he had or had not done and how he would ever be able to repair all of this…

-x-

He was standing in the elevator the next morning, his bag slung over his shoulder, a cup of sweetened coffee in one hand and a Caf-Pow for Abby in the other. He had decided to just confront her. It couldn't get any worse anyhow so why not tackle the problem immediately, instead of procrastinating it anymore?

Determinedly, he walked into Abby's lab, looking around. She was sitting in front of one of her computers, looking much better than the day before. As she spotted Tony, a smile spread across her face. He handed her the Caf-Pow and sat down beside her, nervously fidgeting.

"Thanks, Tony for your –what did you call it? – DiNozzo defibrillator? It has worked miracles for me."  
"You're very welcome," Tony managed to press out, already thinking about how to start the uncomfortable conversation.  
Abby looked closely at him, seemingly sensing that something was wrong with him.  
"What's up, Tony?"  
"Well, the thing is, uh, I have to ask you something."  
"Okay, shoot," Abby said turning slightly in her chair to fully face him.  
"Well, you said yesterday that you left the club at around one o'clock? Well, uh, was I leaving with you?"  
"No, you didn't. I already told you that I left you and Ziva there."  
"Are you sure? Because I, uh, somehow have the feeling that you didn't tell me the whole truth yesterday."  
"What makes you think so?"

She asked with a weird look on her face. Tony couldn't quite place it but he thought that she might actually be looking like he caught her with her hands in the cookie jar.

"Well," he started over again, "you refused to look me in the eye and I… I just had the feeling that you weren't honest with me."  
_You damn liar. You damn Scaredy-Pants._

But to his surprise, Abby bowed her head, apparently closely eyeing her feet now.

"Well, Tony, I did lie to you. I'm sorry."

Tony's heart sank.

_No, no, no._

"I didn't go home alone. But I was scared to tell you because of what you might think of me. Because I was really drunk and I knew that Ziva might have fancied him and I was being a really, really bad friend to her considering the whole Miami-Candy-Disaster and…"  
Abby stopped talking now, slightly turning red in the face.  
"Oh, I shouldn't have told you about Miami-Candy. I really deserve a head-slap now. Do me the favor, Tony?"  
"What? No, Abby, I won't hit you. What exactly are you telling me here? With whom did you go home?"  
"Remember that man that Ziva had been dancing with for a while?"

Tony only nodded, not really remembering the guy himself but he was able to recollect the conversation about him before being dragged off to the dance floor.

"Well, I took him home. But afterwards I felt so ashamed because I should have asked Ziva first and stuff."

Tony couldn't help but laugh out loud, relief washing over him, the burden lifting from his shoulders. So they hadn't… this was really good.

"Why are you laughing, Tony?"  
"Well," he started, not really knowing how to continue. "Trust me, don't feel ashamed, I'm sure Ziva wouldn't have minded. I'm sure, she's still hung up on the Miami-Candy."  
"Oh, too easy, Tony," Abby grinned, "I'm not telling you anymore."  
"Was worth a try, though," Tony said light-heartedly and was about to stand up, when Abby stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.  
"But really, why were you laughing, Tony? The guy wasn't that bad."  
"It's not about the guy, Abby. It's more like, uh, well… It's pretty embarrassing now."  
"Come on, spit it out. I can't be that bad."  
"Oh, believe me, it is."

He rummaged in his bag until he found what he was looking for. He held up her dog collar.  
"I found this in my bed last night. I thought that… that you and me might have…"  
"Oh god, Tony… we never would, you know that!"  
"I know, I know, it's just I can't remember anything and maybe I've just been that wasted you know," he finished lamely.  
"No, I assure you, we never did and we never will," Abby also laughed now. "Trust me."  
"Okay then, when why was this in my bed?"

Abby knitted her brow, thinking hard. After a few more moments, she looked at him again and merely shrugged.  
"I really don't know, Tony. I might have lost it and you found it and brought it home with you to give it back to me? I hadn't even realized that I didn't have it anymore."  
"Yeah, that must be it," Tony just said unconvinced.

-x-

"_Oh, will you just take that thing off? Every time I brush against it, it gives me goose bumps."  
"I am sure Goth-Girl will not appreciate what you just told me. She said I have to keep it on at all times tonight."  
"I don't freaking care," Tony answered, carefully opening the clasp._

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A/N: Thoughts? ;-)  
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	4. Wicked Little Ninja

_**Chapter Four: Wicked Little Ninja**_

-x-_**  
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"_You sure you want to do that, Ziva?"  
"Oh yes, I am."_

_Tony was more or less comfortably seated on a barstool, yet another drink in front of him, facing his partner who chuckled ever so slightly at the precise moment._

"_But," Tony tried again but was cut off by Abby who had just returned from the ladies' room. She seemed strangely pale, Tony realized now.  
"Are you alright, Abs?" He asked, trying to get up but had more difficulty doing so than he thought he would've.  
"No. I mean, yeah, I am. I think," Abby replied, gripping his left shoulder hard. "But I really need to go home now. And don't try to convince me otherwise. I'm really done for today."  
"Should we drive you home? Call you a cab? Anything?" Ziva chimed in.  
"Oh, don't you two dare to drive tonight, do you hear me? You're federal agents! You are taking a cab tonight, understood?"  
"Yes, Boss!" Tony said, saluting with his currently beer-free left hand.  
"Wrong hand, Agent DiNozzo, Sir!" Abby said laughing.  
Tony just smirked at her.  
"You sure, we can't help you?"  
"No, it's alright. Already called a cab. You two have fun, don't kill each other, alright?"  
"We will try," Ziva said, giving her a hug._

_Then, Abby was gone. _

"_So, Zee-vah, what were we talking about before?" Tony asked, furrowing his brow.  
He actually couldn't remember.  
"Uh… I tell you what, Tony. I cannot recall that."  
She giggled and took another sip from her already half empty glass.  
Wait! Did Ziva David just actually giggle? Tony chuckled lightly. Ah, he had to love those tequilas and whatever it was that Ziva was drinking right now. He remembered ordering it for her but had already forgotten what it was. He reached for her glass and took a sip. Ah, yes. Vodka Lemon.  
"What do you think you are doing?"  
"Asking you to dance with me again?" Tony tried and miraculously Ziva nodded.  
"I have nothing against another round," she smiled at him and tugged at his sleeve.  
Tony didn't need to be told twice and took her hand, carelessly dragging her to dance again._

-x-

Tony awoke with a start, as his cell phone was suddenly buzzing right beside his head. Disorientated, he looked around and realized that he had fallen asleep at his desk.  
It was already after midnight. Gibbs had made him do an extra shift, as Ziva apparently still had the flu and hadn't showed up for work today again. But Tony couldn't shrug off the thought that Gibbs was just punishing him for his drunk appearance the day before. He had been loaded with paperwork and hadn't even gotten finished half of it as he had fallen asleep. He rubbed his eyes and then, without looking at the caller ID, answered his phone.

"Yeah, Agent DiNozzo," he said groggily.  
"Tony?"  
Asked a female voice that he didn't recognize but he could imagine how the person looked like. The pitch of her voice was so high that Tony was instantly reminded of one of the girls from the Playboy mansion. He smiled to himself, if Ziva could hear that woman now, she would give him one of these withering stares, not sure whether she should be angry with him or laugh at him. Tony knew these just too well and they always made him smile.  
But deep down he knew that Ziva was probably right, that these women were indeed something to laugh about. Not about them personally, of course, but the way he always seemed to attract them. He was well aware that he was – just like Abby had said – probably too old for them anyway. He sighed at the thought where this particular girl had gotten his number.

"Yeah, that's me. Who's this?"  
"It's Sandy."

_Yeah, right. Of course, her name's Sandy_.

"You know from the night before? The Lux Lounge. We were having a pretty good time."  
"Yeah, sure, Sandy," Tony said, having no clue whatsoever. "How can I help you?"  
"Well, I usually don't call up on a guy like that but well, you were really cool the other night at the club and I thought that maybe we can repeat that?"

Tony suddenly was wide awake. Was she the girl that he had spent the night with? That he took home? It made sense at least. But he still couldn't believe that he couldn't remember anything. He neither recognized her voice nor her name. Hell, he couldn't even think of a girl that he had been talking to, besides the short talk with the woman at the bar before Abby and Ziva had come in. And he _did_ recall her voice and this Sandy surely wasn't that girl.  
He sighed again, trying to figure out the best way to find out what exactly he had done or not done with her.

"You know, I really had fun with you, too. And I think you lost your collar that night, didn't you?"

_Smooth, DiNozzo. _He rolled his eyes at himself.

"My collar? What are you talking about?"  
"The dog collar that you were wearing?"  
"I'd never wear such an ugly thing."

_Uh oh._

"Oh, sorry. Okay, then I guess… you know, I have to tell you something. I don't think we can meet again, Sandy."  
"Why not?"  
"Well because… because I'm married. You know with two kids."

There was silence on the other end for a short while before he could hear something that sounded suspiciously like "Bastard" and then the line went dead.

Tony smiled again as he hung up the phone. He still was worried a bit though. He usually never gave women, that he was not really interested in, his number. That was actually pretty out of the ordinary for him. Ordinarily, he would be given the number and then he would or would not call. But well, after all he had been really wasted…

He tried to remember her again and suddenly a laughing Ziva came into mind…

-x-

"_Please, Ziva. Help me!"  
_

_He had just turned around to look at her, grabbing her arm and dragging her away from whomever she had been dancing with.  
_

_"What, Tony?" She glared at him.  
"This girl! She's not letting go of me. I don't want to dance with her anymore."  
_

_Ziva just laughed at him, her eyes twinkled mischievously and she chuckled.  
_

_"And why should I help you with that, Tony?"  
"Well, because! Because you're my partner. You're supposed to have my back, right? Help me out, please? Just this once?"  
_

_Ziva laughed again and patted his shoulder.  
_

_"Okay, I will help you. But the next drinks are on you!"  
"Done deal," he simply said and watched her approaching the blonde girl. _

_Ziva leaned into the girl and said something to her, causing her to look at Tony again and a broad smile appeared on her face. Ziva conjured up a pencil from her handbag and scribbled something down at a little piece of paper and handed it to her. Then she turned around to him again and motioned him to follow her to the bar._

"_What did you say to her?"  
"Oh, just that you are a little shy and that you really want to see her again but that you are afraid that you are too drunk now to follow through tonight. So I gave her your number."  
"You did what?"  
"Relax, Tony," Ziva laughed again. "Do you really think I know your number by heart? I gave her a fake number, of course! So, where is my promised Vodka?"  
"Coming right up."_

-x-

_Wicked little ninja_.

He would kill Ziva when he would see her again. She didn't give that Sandy the wrong number. Tony was sure that Ziva had hoped that she would call him while being at work, so she and McGee could make fun at him. Tony shook his head, at least she wouldn't obtain that satisfaction.

Part of Tony was glad that that girl hadn't been the one he had spent the night with. He had more class than that, hadn't he? But the other part of him was almost desperate by now to find out who the girl had been.  
He once again gave a solemn promise to himself never to drink that much ever again. One night of fun was not worth this mess at all.

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**A/N: Hope you liked it ;-) Would be nice if you'd review on your way out :)**


	5. Shakira, Shakira

**A/N: Hey you guys, here comes another chapter.**

**Thank you very much for the (at least for my stories xD) many reviews and lots of story alerts! Keep them coming, will you ;-) **

**I just realized that I forgot to put a Disclaimer to this story... so here it goes ;-)**

**Disclaimer: NCIS doesn't belong to me but to CBS... also I don't own Shakira or the Lux Lounge...**

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_**Chapter Five: Shakira, Shakira**_

Tony was awoken by a, he had to admit, rather gentle head-slap the next morning. As he looked up, he saw Gibbs standing in front of his desk, offering him a coffee. Tony took it and took a sip. Ah, Gibbs had finally managed to put just enough sugar in the coffee for Tony.  
"Thanks, Boss."

Gibbs nodded curtly and walked to his own desk.

"You know, I didn't mean to keep you here all night, DiNozzo."  
"Yeah well, I fell asleep halfway through it, so I needed to catch up on that. You know, in order to not get head-slapped."

He grinned lopsided at Gibbs who said nothing, merely nodded again before turning on his computer. What Gibbs didn't know was that Tony had actually been glad that he had to stay in the office that night. Though he was tired like hell now, he hadn't really had the chance to think about anything else than paperwork. After that girl had called, a weird sensation had spread in his gut as he realized that he was nowhere near solving the mystery of the drunken night. He knew that there had to be a clue somewhere in those moments, he could actually remember, but he found himself unable to discover it. He was missing something, or a lot, and he knew it.  
He yawned once again, then grabbed his toothbrush and went to men's room to refresh himself before starting a new day of work, hopefully with more than just boring paperwork or cold cases.  
As he made his way back to his desk a short time later, he was surprisingly surprised that he saw Ziva sitting at her desk. He decided to keep it casual. He would not mention the club or anything. He had to admit that he was a bit ashamed now that he couldn't remember much at all. He would not tell that to Ziva though. Not voluntarily at least.

"Good morning, Zee-vah," he said as he sat down on his chair again. "Feeling any better?"  
"Morning Tony. Yes, thank you," Ziva said without looking up, instead she tapped away at the keys a little too forceful.  
"You sure that everything's alright?"  
"Yes, Tony. I just have a lot to catch down on," she replied annoyed.  
"Catch up on, Ziva," Tony corrected her, earning him a short withering stare before she quickly looked at the keyboard again.

Tony decided to shut up for the time being. A ninja in a bad mood was not to be teased and he knew that just too well. He rubbed his eyes, suddenly feeling really tired, and slightly winced as his hand touched the scratch on his cheek. It had not yet vanished. Actually, it hadn't changed at all, if anything it had gotten redder. If it wouldn't heal other the next days, Tony would have to see Ducky for a closer examination. Inconspicuously, he shook his head and wondered if he'd ever find out what had happened to his face. He knew that a time would come, when he would have to ask Ziva what she knew about it but decided to delay that for a little while. Ziva obviously wasn't in her best mood this morning and he would not push it now.

-x-

The morning passed slowly. There was still no new case, Gibbs had excused himself to MTAC about an hour ago and hadn't returned ever since. McGee had gone to visit Abby in her lab for reasons unknown and the computer still seemed to be given Ziva's best attention. In short, Tony was bored. He didn't know what to do with himself. He had considered taking a power nap but had decided against it as Gibbs would surely show up then and he just wasn't in the mood for another head-slap.  
So he had put up his feet on his desk and just stared at Ziva with his hands behind his head. On contrary to her usual ninja skills, Ziva seemed to be totally unconscious to his staring at first. Tony wondered if he could risk throwing pieces of paper at her without getting killed. But as he was still pondering about that, Ziva's eyes suddenly met his and Tony realized that she was holding a paperclip in her left hand. So, she had noticed him all along. He didn't say something, just raised his hands and grinned apologetically at her. Ziva's expression of pure hatred hadn't changed though. She was still staring at him, her brown eyes had turned slightly darker and there was a frown on her forehead. Tony couldn't shrug off the oppressive feeling that he had seen her like that before but he wasn't able to recall when that had been. He wasn't even sure whether she was teasing him or whether she was serious. Sometimes he really couldn't tell with Ziva.

"DiNozzo, David, go get some lunch, will ya? Before she's going to kill you, DiNozzo," Gibbs's voice traveled down the stairs and Tony obeyed almost instantly, grabbing his wallet, badge and gun.

"You coming?" He asked as Ziva hadn't moved at all.

Tony saw that she was about to shake her head but then her eyes flickered to a stern-looking Gibbs and she reluctantly got up and followed him into the elevator.

"What is wrong with you today?" Tony asked her bluntly, once the doors had slid shut.  
"I already told you, nothing."  
"Doesn't seem like it, Agent David," Tony replied with a soft smile playing on his lips, trying to lighten her mood.

Ziva just sighed, leaning her head against the cold wall of the elevator just as Tony had done two days before. Realizing that this might be the only chance he would get, Tony switched the emergency button, the elevator came to a halt and the lights flickered.

"Seriously, Ziva. Are you okay?"

She still avoided his eyes but subtly shook her head. He could see her cheeks slightly blush and realized that he had never seen her like that.

"What is it, then? Anything I can help you with?" Tony asked, truly concerned by now.  
"It is a bit embarrassing actually. It is about the other night at the club. I am having trouble remembering."

Tony simply grinned at her, waiting for her to continue but he waited in vain. So he approached Ziva, looking at her closely once again. He tilted his head to his side as he saw a scrape on Ziva's neck. It wasn't as large as Tony's but just as red and he would have missed it, if he hadn't approached her.

"What did you do to your neck, Zi?"  
"What did you do to your face?"

Tony shrugged.

"You know, I was hoping you could tell me that."

Ziva looked up at him now, confusion mirroring on her face.

"What do you mean?"  
"Well, it seems like we have something in common. I can't remember much about that night either."  
"You do not?"  
"Nope. I mean, some snippets, some snapshots but that's all. I think, I might remember stuff until you gave that girl my," he held up his hands making air quotes, "fake phone number but after that everything's kind of dark."

At Tony's last words a flicker of recognition was to be seen on Ziva's face and she smirked at him.

"So, she called you already?"  
"Oh, hell yes. But I told her that I had a crazy ex-Mossad officer on my heels and that seemed to scare off."

Ziva raised an eyebrow at him, clearly pondering if he was teasing her.

"No, I just told her I was married with two kids. Thanks by the way for helping me out the way you did."  
"You are very welcome," she said and for the first time today, a real smile had appeared on her face.

"Do you remember anything else after that?" Tony pushed forward, eager and afraid at the same time, he still wasn't sure whether he really wanted to know.

"Not much," Ziva answered, furrowing her brow. "I think we were dancing. There was this song, you know by that blonde Columbian woman? What is she called?"  
"You mean Shakira?"

-x-

I never really knew that she could dance like this. She makes a man wants to speak Spanish…

"_Come on Ziva, one more dance? After all, I know that you can dance to that song. You showed it to me once, remember?"  
"I do remember," Ziva replied, grinning broadly, "I just did not think you paid attention to me."  
"Oh, I always do," Tony said, already guiding her back to the dance floor._

_They started out dancing, trying to get in synch with the music, with each other. Though they had danced together tonight quite a few times before, it was still quite a challenge to move together but not actually touching each other. Tony was an experienced dancer, being quite the jack-of-all-trades, but he was a bungler in comparison to Ziva he realized just now. She was moving so perfect, so flawless that Tony couldn't help but stare at her as she swayed her hips. _

"_Hey," she shouted over the blaring music, "Are you here to dance or to stare?"_

_Tony was tempted to say 'stare' but figured that that was not the answer that Ziva was waiting for. So he started to dance again, desperately trying to copy her movements but he was not quite successful._

"_You are too stiff, Tony," Ziva shouted again, moving closer to him now and put her hands on his waist, showing him how to sway properly._

_Her hands pressed hot against his body and Tony couldn't deny it that he actually liked that. He wondered if she had meant anything by putting them on his waist but decided that it didn't matter anyway. They were close now and as Tony finally found the right rhythm, she let go of him but didn't move away from him. They were dancing face to face now, occasionally Tony's arm would brush Ziva's or her leg would touch his. As he looked down, he realized that Ziva was looking him right in the face, a smirk on her lips, and Tony could smell the faint scent of tequila and vodka. He noticed now that if she was any other woman here, he would just bend down and kiss her but she was simply not any other woman. This was Ziva David, he was thinking about here and he was no quite drunk enough to get himself killed._

-x-

"Hips don't lie, huh?" Tony said, taking a step away from her and pushed the emergency button again.

He could have sworn that he saw the faintest of blush disappearing from Ziva's cheeks, as the lights came back to life and the elevator began to move again.

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**A/N: Thoughts?**


	6. Headshots and Moving Trees

**A/N: Thank you for your kind words, everyone!  
This chapter is rather one for transition... but I really needed that one here...**

**Hope you like it anyways!**

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_**Chapter Six: Headshots and moving trees**_

"Okay, let's gather what we do know, alright? Abby said she left around one o'clock, after that I don't have any real time frame. Do you?"

Tony asked as he sat together with Ziva at a table at a nearby restaurant. They had decided to figure out the mystery of the night together. It wasn't like they had any other choice really. Ever since Tony had seen the scratch on Ziva's neck, he was desperate to know what happened. At least this meant that they had been spending some more time together. He rubbed his temples and took a sip from the Coke that was standing in front of him.

"No, not really. I think I remember doing some more shots after we, you know, danced."

"I never knew you could dance like that, you make a man want to speak Hebrew," Tony started to sing, teasing her, but as he saw the look on her face, a weird mixture of embarrassment and _I'll kill you_, he stopped, coughed and motioned her to continue.

"Many, many shots of… tequila? After that, there is pretty much darkness, I believe. I actually remember taking a cab home, though. But it was already sunrise."  
"Well, that's at least something we can work with, right? So we are more or less missing about five hours."  
"I believe so."

Tony thoughtfully took another sip from his coke and tried to remember his own cab ride home but was unable to retrieve any information. He had taken the cab for sure as he had taken one to get to the club in the first place. Or had he been riding with whatever girl he had been with later? He tried to remember that, too, but couldn't come up with anything – again.

This was slowly getting unnerving. He knew that he would have stopped thinking about that night already, if it weren't for those odd things that kept on showing up. First the scratch on his cheek, then Abby's dog collar, then Ziva's scrape. There had to be a connection of some sort but he just couldn't see it.

He had been thinking about asking Ziva about the dog collar but somehow found himself unable to do so. He would have to tell her that he'd been with a woman that night and he didn't want her to know that. He wasn't quite sure why but he knew that she would make fun of him or be angry with him and he didn't want either of these things.

"What exactly do you remember then, before we were dancing?" Ziva diverted his train of thought.

"Uh, let's see. Standing in line of the club, then talking to some woman before you and Abby came in. Dancing with you and Abby. Then, uh, we were talking about something that I can't recall and Abby showed up again to tell us that she's leaving. Then the dance with Sandy and that you gave her your number. That's about it."

Ziva smirked at him, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"What?" Tony said confused.  
"I just remembered something that we discussed before Abby came back."  
"What was it?" Tony asked now, he, too, was smiling, as Ziva started laughing. "Come on, tell me!"  
"We were talking about body shots, remember?"

Tony looked at Ziva now with wide eyes…

-x-

"_Two tequilas, please!" _

_Tony said to the bartender before he turned around to Ziva again. They had been sitting on their barstools for a while now and Tony had to admit that he was actually having lots of fun. A drunk Ziva was much harder to annoy, he realized. Hell, she was even laughing at his jokes and she hadn't killed him as he had spilled parts of his last beer over the front of her heels a few minutes previously._

"_Tony, can I ask you something?"  
"Anything, Ziva."  
"That weird Goth that I was dancing with before asked me what I was thinking about body shots."_

_Tony eyed her suspiciously, trying to figure out whether or not she was joking. But her eyes seemed to be innocent._

"_What did you answer?"  
"That I prefer headshots. But I think that scared him away."  
"You have got to be kidding me! You said what?" Tony asked, laughing so hard that he almost knocked over the tequila that the bartender was handing him at the moment._

_"What is so funny about that?" Ziva demanded.  
"Ziva, how long have you been in this country? Almost six years, right? How can you not know what a body shot is?"  
"Because I do not! Will you tell me now?"  
_

_"Hmm," Tony said, pondering if he was finally ready to get himself killed tonight.  
"I can't tell you," he continued, "but I could show you."  
"Okay then, show me."_

_He looked at her again and decided that he couldn't do that. No, he couldn't possibly be downing a shot of tequila from … from in between her breasts, could he? No, he wouldn't do that. He leaned forward so that only she could hear him._

"_You sure you want to do that, Ziva?"  
"Oh yes, I am."  
"But," Tony tried again but was cut off by Abby who had just returned from the ladies' room._

-x-

Tony laughed now, suddenly remembering. Wow, thank god for Abby. If she hadn't interrupted them right at that moment, Tony wouldn't sit here right now but would be lying on one of Ducky's tables. He was glad that he never got the chance to show her…

They finished eating their lunch with no further results. Tony was honestly disappointed by their lack of progress. He had hoped that Ziva could finally fill some of his memory gaps but obviously she had been just as drunk as him.  
He wondered if she was withholding information just like him, and if she did, what it was. He once again pondered, if he should tell her about the dog collar but he was still too afraid.

-x-

That evening, as he was driving home from work, he didn't pay much attention to the traffic. He rather looked at his surroundings, still thinking about the lunch with Ziva and how much fun he had had, despite their lack of memory. He had to stop at a red light and his eyes wandered to his right side where a little park was. Trees were standing there and the wind was rustling through their leaves making them seemingly moving…

-x-

"_Why is it that the trees are moving but we're not?"_

_Tony looked out the window of the car now and realized that she was right, they were moving but still they were sitting here stilly. _

"_I think, it's because we're drunk, honey," he answered before he turned around._

-x-

Tony was suddenly roused from his daydream by a concert of honking cars behind him. He hadn't realized that the traffic light had turned to green. He hurried to get his car going again.

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**A/N: Thoughts? ;)**


	7. Long Distance

**A/N: It hadn't been my intention to put up another chapter so soon but as I am currently bored out of my mind, I just decided to write a little more and here's how it turned out. Finally a little light in the darkness for Ziva and Tony - maybe :-D**

**I hope you like it! :)**

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_**Chapter Seven: Long distance**_

The next day finally brought a new case and Tony was relieved to see himself faced with new tasks, instead of the seemingly endless time to think. He was so busy securing the crime scene, taking pictures, interrogating witnesses and possible suspects that it didn't even strike him as odd that Ziva had been very quiet the whole day. Only as they stood in the observation room side by side, watching Gibbs' attempt to crack the suspect, he realized that he hadn't been threatened to get killed that day.

He glanced over at Ziva, who was standing a little bit further away than she usually would. Her eyes were fixed on Gibbs but Tony could see that they weren't moving along with him. It seemed like she was far, far away in her thoughts. Tony noticed that she wasn't looking particularly healthy. Was she still suffering from the flu? Or had it been just an excuse for being hung over that day? He turned around now to fully face her. Extraordinarily for her, she didn't seem to realize that. Usually, she would have heard him move, would have seen his reflection in the window.  
But as he softly spoke her name, she jumped. Ziva never jumped or at least Tony had never seen her jump before.

_Really odd._

"I know, I sound like a broken record but are you alright, Zi?"

Ziva turned to look at him and he could see that she tried to put on a happier face but failed miserably. Maybe she could have fooled McGee with that but not Tony. Her eyes told him that something was wrong, seriously wrong.

"What is it? Come one, you can tell me."  
"I do not think you want to know, Tony. It is private."  
"And since when does that stop me from wanting to know?" He grinned sheepishly at her.  
"Never," she sighed but turned around to face the interrogation room again.

But Tony wouldn't let her off the hook that easily. He knew that Ziva was a very private person but he also knew that she opened up to him from time to time. So he kept on staring at her, not paying the interrogation in the other room any attention. After a little while, Ziva seemed to be unnerved by his constant staring and turned around again. Anger mirrored on her face but yet again her eyes didn't shut up. They weren't angrily staring at him, they were just a little bit darker than usual and Tony could see them slightly shimmer.

-x-

_He wondered where Ziva had walked off to. He didn't know how long she was gone already but he was certain that it was longer than a visit to the ladies' room would usually take, especially for Ziva who wasn't like one of these Barbie dolls that would stand in front of the mirror forever. Tony couldn't suppress the feeling that something was wrong and he had the strong feeling that he was the reason why she wouldn't come back. _

_They had been standing in the corner of the club, talking about nothing in particular, really. She had teased him that no woman, besides that weird, annoying blonde one, seemed to be interested in him tonight. He had replied that he hadn't really tried getting one because if he had, he'd have at least five new phone numbers on his cell. Ziva had laughed at him and asked why he hadn't tried to get some. He had merely smiled and had leaned forward to whisper in her ear that she was with him tonight and that that was simply enough. She had smiled at him for a moment before taking another sip from her vodka. _

"_So why are you not taking your chances and pick up a man tonight, Ziva?" He had asked her, only wanting to tease her.  
But she had stared at him with a slightly distant look and hadn't answered him.  
"Ah, I forgot," Tony had continued without thinking, "you have Mr. Miami."_

_Ziva had remained standing there, giving him that weird look and then emptied her drink in one gulp and had murmured something about needing to wash her hands._

_So he was standing there now, wondering what he had done wrong. He had teased her with that Miami guy for months now, how could that have been so bad now? He decided to just ask her. He slowly made his way to the ladies' room, desperately trying not to sway. _

_He opened the door just as another woman was trying to get out of there. She gave him a disgruntled look but didn't say anything. Tony quickly squinted around but didn't see anyone else there but Ziva who stood at the far end of the room, leaning her head against the wall. He quickly turned the lock at the door and then cautiously approached her. She only looked up as he was standing merely inches away from her. _

"_You do realize that this is the ladies' room, yes?"  
"Like that has ever stopped you from getting in ours at work," Tony retorted.  
"Whatever. What are you doing here?"  
"I was worried about you. And I came to apologize. I don't know what I did or said wrong but I'm sorry."_

_Ziva gave him a small smile and leaned her back against the wall behind her, Tony did the same beside her._

"_You have not done anything wrong – for once. I am just being stupid. I should not still be hung over all that stuff."  
"Hung up, you mean. We will be hung over tomorrow, though," he flashed his famous DiNozzo smile at her in an attempt to lighten the mood but failed as Ziva was still looking gloomily._

"_What stuff?" He asked.  
"It is about the guy from Miami. Robert. Well, I was dating him for a while now."  
"Was?" Tony interrupted her, feeling his heart sink at the thought that he had actually been more than a friend, despite her prior statements._

"_Yes, Tony, was dating. However, we broke up last week."  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ziva. What happened?"  
"I do not really know. We ended it because we are not good in long distance relationships."  
"What are you talking about? You've had a relationship with Rivkin when he was still in Israel. Talking about long distance!"_

_As soon as Tony had mentioned Rivkin's name, he regretted it. They never really had talked about him since they've gotten home from Somalia and he hadn't minded that at all. But as he looked as Ziva now, he could see that she surprisingly didn't care._

"_Yeah, you are right," she said, now finally looking him straight in the eyes.  
"I believe that Robert was jealous of… of my work and that I spend so much time with… working."  
"He's really stupid then. Who in his right mind would ever let you go?"_

_Again, he stopped talking, desperately trying to stop his cheeks from blushing now. He was risking his neck with careless talking and he knew it. Damn alcohol. _

_But again Ziva surprised him as she merely smiled at him and rested her forehead on his chest. He carefully pulled his arms around her and hugged her tightly._

"_Don't worry," he whispered into her ear, trying desperately not to be distracted by her scent, "you'll forget about him soon enough. There are much better guys out there for you."_

-x-

"Oh," Tony simply said, tearing his thoughts away from the ladies' room and softly squeezed her shoulder.  
"It's still Robert, huh? You'll get over him."

Ziva looked up at him again, shock and disbelief showing on her face.

"How do you know?"  
"I… just remembered. You told me about it at the club."  
"I did?" Ziva sighed, looking away from him.  
"Damn tequilas," she said more to herself than to him.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me. But if you ever wanted to talk, I'm here."  
"I know, Tony, I know."

He gave her an encouraging smile and she almost shyly returned it. Tony finally started to observe Gibbs' interrogation again, wondering what on earth had happened after that talk in the bathroom. By now, however, he was pretty positive that everything would resurface again…

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**A/N: I'd be glad, if you'd review on your way out! :)**


	8. Somewhere over the Rainbow

**A/N: Okay, guys, here's the next chapter!**

**As I have loads of time on my hands right now, I'm able to update pretty quickly...**

**This chapter was really hard for me to write, though. I ended up rewriting it three times and still I'm not 100% sure that I like it. But I can't find another way to write it right now... so, I hope you like it anyways and feel free to comment ;-)**

**Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! :)**

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_**Chapter Eight: Somewhere over the Rainbow**_

Tony was standing in front of the big screen in the bullpen, looking at the picture of the dead marine and listened intently to McGee's remarks about the sailor's life. Gibbs' interrogation earlier that day hadn't brought the result they all had hoped for. He hadn't confessed and had a watertight alibi for the time of the murder. So they had to start all over again, finding hinky stuff about the sailor.

Tony wasn't exactly sure whether or not he liked the prospect of another late night at the office. He was in desperate need of some long night sleep and he still had a whole night of lost memories to catch up on. But on the other hand, he'd not spend the night at the office alone. There were still Gibbs, McGeek and Ziva. That wouldn't be too bad. Plus, he was determined to find the murderer of Lt. Armstrong. He wanted to catch the killer as soon as possible.

Something brushed against his arm now and as he averted his gaze from the screen, he saw Ziva standing beside him. She had been on the phone for the last few minutes and he hadn't noticed her sneaking up on him. She took another step forward, so that she was standing right in front of him and again, her arm brushed against his, leaving him with unexpectedly erupting goose bumps at the spot where she had just touched him…

-x-

_The dance floor was packed and Tony felt slightly cramped. With every step he made, he was being pushed against another dancer. He noticed that he had unintentionally moved closer to Ziva as the song had progressed. He didn't really know why but he once again couldn't help but stare at her. He watched her every move, trying almost desperately to copy her motions. He realized that with every tequila that he had downed, his ability to dance had gotten seemingly better. Maybe it was just his clouded mind that made him think so but he couldn't care less. Ziva's back was arching one and her hips the other way now and Tony couldn't understand how she was able to pull that off. _

_They had faced each other for the last couple of minutes, dancing to some Spanish rhythm. But now, Ziva suddenly turned around causing her hair fly around wildly and Tony was able to smell her unique scent again. Her back was facing him now and he threw all caution to the winds. What did it matter anyhow? He grabbed her waist from behind, pulling her closer to him. He knew that he wasn't supposed to grab his partner like that but he just didn't care anymore. He realized that he was boiling drunk by now but the night had been too much fun for him to give a damn at the moment. As he had touched her, she hadn't even flinched. She had merely looked back over her shoulder for a split of a second and had given him a smile before she had turned around again, continuing with her dancing._

_They were in total sync now with Tony moving exactly the way she did. His hands had remained on her waist and he pulled her, if that was possible, even closer to him. He could feel the heat of her skin underneath the soft fabric of her black dress. It seemed to radiate from her and again her scent seemed to cloud his mind. He wasn't exactly able to think straight, as he lowered his head in an attempt to get more of her delicious smell. His nose was touching the back of her head now with her hair softly tickling him. _

_The last beats of the song were playing and Tony couldn't suppress a sigh. He didn't want the song to end at all. He thoroughly enjoyed dancing that way. But the song came to a halt and for a few moments there was silence._

_Ziva turned around again but didn't enlarge their distance. They were standing face to face now and Tony, once again, could smell the unique mixture of vodka and tequila. As the next song started, Ziva couldn't hide her disappointment showing on her face. It was a much slower rhythm now and Tony quickly identified it as Israel Iz' _Somewhere over the rainbow_.  
As if on cue, the dance floor slowly emptied and only couples, or so it seemed, were left. Tony looked down at Ziva again and saw a questioning look on her face. He gave her a broad grin._

"_Do you want to stop or…," he trailed off as he saw that Ziva was returning his grin._

"_Let us keep going, yes?"_

_He nodded in agreement and once again let his hands wander to her lower back, unconsciously trailing patterns on her dress with his fingers. Ziva had put her hands on the back of his neck, softly playing with hair. They moved slowly now, revolving around each other. Slowly, the fact that he found her almost ridiculously hot tonight, sank into his drunken mind. He subtly shook his head as he realized where his thoughts were wandering to. He desperately tried to distract himself from her body, from her scent that was lingering in the air now. But as he had finally succeeded in listening to the lyrics instead of feeling her every touch, Ziva suddenly looked up at him again, a smile so wide on her face that it made Tony stop dead in his tracks. He stared into her brown orbs now and he tilted his head just a fraction. He had even lowered his gaze and had silently debated to kiss her before his brain finally started to work again. _

_He threw back his head in one swift movement and let go of her. Ziva remained standing there for a few moments, staring into space before she slowly left the dance floor with Tony at her heels. _

"_You know, we should probably head home now, yes?" She asked as Tony had caught up on her.  
"Yes, that might be for the best," he replied, feeling his cheeks burning up at the thought of what he had almost done._

-x-

"DiNozzo, do you need a written invitation to get going?"  
"Huh?"

Tony said, only now realizing that he had remained standing in front of the screen, while the others were already seated at their desks again.

"Financial checks, DiNozzo. Pronto," Gibbs snarled.  
"I'm on it, Boss."

Tony sat down with an almost sick feeling in his stomach. He didn't even want to think about the consequences, if he had actually kissed her. He glanced over to Ziva's desk and saw her so occupied with work that she didn't even realize that he was staring at her. She seemed perfectly fine, a soft smile playing on her lips. He congratulated his drunk self that he had backed out in the last nick of time. At least, he hadn't embarrassed himself more than he already had.

He had to talk to Ziva to tell her what he had just found out, he knew that and yet he felt his insides cringe at the mere thought of it. But he knew that in order to learn what had happened next, he would have to tell her. At least, she had played along with him and it hadn't looked like she hadn't like it, had she?

He let out a sigh of relief as another thing came into his mind. Ziva had told him that she had taken a cab home. Alone. And he had remembered a cab ride, too, but there was somebody with him, then. So they couldn't have gone home together, right?

He sighed again, this time not knowing whether or not he was relieved.

At the end of the day, as Gibbs finally let them go home, Tony had made up his mind. He would tell her. After all, she deserved to know, right?

"Hey Ziva," he started as they were both waiting for the elevator to arrive, "Fancy a movie tonight? My place? We could order in. Chinese or whatever you like."

Ziva gave him a surprised look but then a soft smile spread on her face and she nodded.

"Yes, I would like that. Chinese sounds fine."  
"Okay then, great. Do you need directions to my apartment?"  
"No, I am fine. I have a GPS in my car. I will find the way."  
"Okay, see you in about an hour?"  
"Sounds great."

With that, their ways parted for the time being. Tony still wasn't sure how on earth he should tell her but over Chinese food and a movie everything was always much easier for him.

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**A/N: Thoughts?**


	9. The Tiger and the Car Door

**A/N: Just as promised, another quick update ;-)**

**Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, as always they made my day! :)**

**The next chapter is a little longer than the last ones and yeah, I just hope you like it and review :)  
Have fun!**

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_**Chapter Nine: The Tiger and the Car Door**_

Tony looked around in his apartment, making sure that everything was where it was supposed to be. After he had gotten home, he had hurried to take a shower and had then tried to tidy up the place as quickly as possible. Ziva had never been to his apartment before and he wanted it to look nice.  
His stomach was feeling all funny and Tony realized that he was a bit nervous. He shifted the blame onto his discovery earlier that day and not onto the fact that she was coming over. They had had movie nights before, especially when Gibbs had gone to Mexico a few years before but then, he had always been at her apartment, bringing the wine, the movies, the food. Never once had she visited him but Tony couldn't remember why.

He looked around once again and was satisfied with what he saw. He checked his watch and realized that Ziva was running late. That was slightly odd but maybe she had gotten lost after all. He walked over to the shelf that held all his movies and tried to choose one for tonight. He wasn't in the mood to watch a horror shocker and a romance was out of question, too, considering Ziva's recent breakup. He walked over to his comedies and had to smile to himself as he caught sight of _Hangover_. Yeah, that was just the right movie for them to watch…

Five minutes later, there was finally a knock on the door and Ziva was standing there, a six pack of Coke in one hand.

"Sorry, I am late. I had to run an errand before I came here."  
"No problem. So, just Coke tonight, huh?" Tony stated, pointing to the bottles in her hand.  
"As I am never going to drink any alcohol ever again, I thought I would bring some soda."

Tony let out a laugh and let her in. He had told himself the same thing but he knew as well as she did that they would drink again. They settled down on the couch and Tony handed Ziva the food that had arrived a few minutes before she had done and took the remote.

"So, I decided on a movie that I'm sure you'll love. It's funny, it's Las Vegas, it's something you'll never forget."  
"That would make at least one thing," Ziva deadpanned and grinned at him.

Tony snorted and switched on the movie.

Halfway through it, they had both finished eating and Tony had leaned back on the couch, his arms resting on the backrest and Ziva had snuggled into the cushions beside him. Tony realized that they were sitting as close as it was possible without actually touching each other and he liked feeling her warmth beside him. They had to watch movies more often, he thought. This was nice...

-x-

"You know, Tony," Ziva suddenly said, looking over to him, "at least we did not steal a tiger, right? It cannot get any worse."

Tony laughed again but then turned serious as Ziva didn't avert her glance from him. He gave her a weak smile, still pondering how on earth he was supposed to tell her.

"Ziva," he started, "I remembered something again. Uh, we were dancing and, uh, well…"  
"Come on, Tony, you almost sound like McGee. Leak."  
"I think you mean 'spill.' But yeah, do you remember dancing to that _Somewhere over the rainbow_ cover?"

Ziva looked at him for a few moments and Tony could see her frown, obviously thinking hard. Then suddenly, her eyes widened and she quickly looked away from him.

"I see, you do remember."

Tony couldn't help but grin. He looked closely at her and he noticed her cheeks were slightly turning pink.

"Yes, I do," Ziva finally answered, still avoiding any eye contact.  
"Hey," Tony softly said, "don't worry about it, alright? We were just… dancing and were drunk. Could have happened to anyone, right? Plus, I kind of enjoyed it. You are one hell of a dancer."  
"You are not that bad yourself."

"So, we're okay?"  
"Yes, of course."

Tony nodded once and then turned his attention back to the movie. They sat in silence for a while and Tony was all consumed again by the movie soon enough. He didn't even notice that Ziva had suddenly straightened herself. It was only when he could hear a silent 'Oh god' that he turned to look at her. Ziva was sitting as straight as a pole on his couch now, her muscles tensed. Tony quickly paused the movie.

"Are you alright, Ziva?"  
"I do not know actually."  
"What's wrong?" Tony asked worriedly, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it softly.

Ziva imperceptibly shook her head, still looking utterly confused.

"I think," she finally started over, "stealing a tiger sounds pretty good to me right now. God, Gibbs will kill us."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"Tony, do you remember exiting the club at all? Remember, how hard it was to get a cab?"

Tony looked at her now, his eyes just as wide as hers…

-x-

_Tony had hoped that once they were outside the club, his mind would be able to work fully again but he had to realize that quite the opposite was the case. As he had taken the first breath of the cold air around him, he had trouble to even remain standing. He stopped dead in his tracks, causing Ziva to bump into him from behind._

"_Sorry," she slightly slurred, holding on to him tightly._

_Tony tried to repress the dizziness that started to cloud his senses and he took another deep breath but the situation didn't change. He remained standing there, desperately trying to get a grip onto himself._

"_Are you okay, Tony?"_

_Ziva was suddenly standing in front of him, her head tilted to one side and she smiled at him._

"_No, not really," he replied._

_Ziva turned her back to him, looking around. _

"_Let us get you a cab, yes?"  
"Yeah," Tony pressed out, finally able to make sense of his surroundings._

_He took a few cautious steps forward but where usually cabs were lining up to pick up drunken clubbers, there was nothing to be seen. Tony sighed, pulled out his cell phone and tried to remember the number of his favorite cab company. He stood there for a few moments but no number came to his mind._

"_Hey Zi, what's the number of the telephone exchange?"  
"I do not know," Ziva hesitantly answered, gripping his shoulder as she was just about to stumble over the flat street they were walking on._

_Tony was able to catch her just in time and he pulled his arms around her tightly. He looked down at her and couldn't help but smile. Confused, she looked up at him._

"_Feeling slightly tipsy, are we?" Tony joked._

_For the third time that night, Tony couldn't help but stare into her brown eyes and he unconsciously licked his lips. She once again looked perfectly kissable and he didn't care anymore. He latently knew that his brain wasn't working properly anymore, he knew that he would increase his chances of getting killed by either Ziva or Gibbs later on but he didn't give a damn anymore. He just didn't. _

_He leaned forward and their noses grazed. For a short moment, Tony looked into her eyes again and he could see that she didn't mind the sudden contact at all. He meant to close the small gap between them but was interrupted by a honk right behind him. He quickly let go of her, not quite able to suppress a sigh and turned around._

"_You need a ride?" The driver of the taxi asked.  
"Yeah, we do… I mean, she does."_

_The cab driver gave him an amused smile but Tony was far beyond caring about him. He turned around to Ziva and carefully shuffled her onto the backseat. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow._

"_I'll find another cab, don't worry."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yeah, I am."_

_He gave her his famous DiNozzo smile and then bent down in order to give her a good night kiss on the cheek at the same time that Ziva had reached out her hand to close the door. The door came to sudden halt as it hit Tony's head hard._

"_Ouch!" Tony was only able to cry out._

_His head was pounding and this time the alcohol had nothing to do with it. He raised his hand and touched the spot on his cheek where the door had just hit him and he winced. He was sure he'd have a black eye the next day._

"_God, Tony, I am so sorry. Are you okay?"  
"Yeah," Tony groaned, still rubbing his cheek.  
"I did not mean to…," Ziva started to apologize but Tony just held up his hand.  
"It's okay, really. You didn't do it on purpose… I hope. Now, you go home, I'll find my way."_

_He tried to push the door shut but yet again it didn't close because Ziva had just attempted to climb out of the cab again. Tony couldn't exactly see where the door had hit her but only a second later, she groaned, holding one hand to her neck._

_Tony couldn't help but to let out a laugh. What were the odds of that happening twice?  
First, Ziva shot him a withering stare but then she obviously realized how funny the situation was. She joined in laughing._

"_Are you alright, sweet cheeks?" Tony asked in between the laughter.  
"I think so."  
"That really could only happen to us."_

_Tony didn't know how long they were standing there, laughing at each other but suddenly the driver was to be heard again and Tony realized that he sounded angry._

"_Do you need a ride now or not? I don't have all night."  
"Hey Tony," Ziva started, still fighting the urge to laugh, "Why do we not share it? We can drop you off on the way to my apartment."  
"You sure?"_

_Ziva only nodded and slipped into the car again. Tony quickly followed suit and then carefully – very carefully – closed the door. This time it worked. He gave the directions to the driver and then looked at Ziva again._

"_Come on," he said, already reaching out his hand to her neck, "Let me see where I've hit you."_

_Ziva tilted her head and held back her hair so Tony could see. He noticed a bright red scratch but it didn't look as bad as he thought it would. He nevertheless leaned further forward and then finally plucked up his courage and kissed the spot on her neck carefully. _

_He could feel Ziva tense for a short moment before she relaxed again and then she brought her hand to his left cheek. She traced the scratch softly with her index finger causing Tony's heart to stutter and it missed a beat or two. He looked up now and once again his green eyes locked into her brown ones. She tenderly tilted his head with her hand and then placed a few kisses along his cheek. Tony could feel himself burning up and he now threw all caution to the winds completely. _

_He turned his head a bit and then caught her lips with his._

_

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_**A/N: Hah, cliffhanger, right? :D  
Review on your way out please ;-) **_  
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	10. Red and White

**A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for the many reviews on that last chapter :) **

**I'm sorry for the cliffhanger ****(well, not really, cause I kinda like them :-D)**** but I hope the relatively fast update compensates for that :-D  
Okay, here's the next chapter and we're slowly getting to the end of that night ;)  
Hope you like it and review! :)**

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_**Chapter Ten: Red and White**_

_He turned his head a bit and then caught her lips with his._

_As his lips crashed down on hers, he could feel his heart make a jump, making him even more nervous. But after the first moment of obvious shock on Ziva's side, she kissed him back and the pounding of his pulse got so loud that he was sure she must have heard it. He tried to deepen the kiss now, his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth but suddenly Ziva pulled back ever so slightly._

_He looked at her now and as he saw the partly confused and partly shocked expression on her face, he knew that he was doomed. But then, Ziva suddenly smiled at him so broadly that his heart skipped a beat again and she leaned forward, her soft lips touching his and this time she didn't hesitate. She let his tongue enter between her lips and it didn't take long before both of their tongues were circling around each other. Tony cupped her face with his hand, carefully pulling back a loose strand of hair._

_Tony wasn't exactly aware of what he was doing or even how he was doing it but as they finally broke apart, both taking deep breaths, he couldn't suppress the smile that threatened to split his face in half. And to his relief, she replied it just as widely. They sat there for a few moments, just staring at each other, lost for words. _

_Tony couldn't really place the expression on her face now. Though she was still smiling at him, her eyes were seemingly somewhere far away. Tony tilted his head ever so slightly and was able to see her eyes sparkling mischievously now. He tried to remember when he had last seen them like that but his brain power was not up to the task. So he just kept on staring at her until she finally broke their eye contact, looking around._

"_Why is it that the trees are moving but we are not?" She suddenly asked staring at a point right behind him._

_Tony looked out the window of the car now and realized that she was right, the trees were moving but still they were sitting here stilly. _

"_I think, it's because we're drunk, honey," he answered before he turned around again.  
"Yes, that might be the reason," she laughed silently before she leaned into him again, stealing another kiss._

-x-

Tony sat on his couch, elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling his cheeks heating up and he tried almost desperately to regain his composure. What the hell had he been thinking? He couldn't bring himself to look at Ziva, who hadn't moved at all. He was sure, however, that if he looked up now, she would still stare at him, her eyes boring into his and he wasn't ready to answer any questions just yet.

It wasn't like he had never been thinking about actually kissing her, without an undercover assignment or anything else work related in mind, but this was not how it was supposed to happen. This was just not the way to do that…

"Tony, please talk to me."

Ziva's voice diverted his train of thought and he finally looked up, only to have his suspicion confirmed that she was staring at him, slightly paler than usual.

"Wow," Tony slowly started, pondering on what to say, do next.

"Is that all you have to say?" Ziva demanded, though Tony didn't miss the slightly shaky tone in her voice.

"No, it's just… I… I don't really know what to say. I don't have an excuse but being drunk."

Ziva only nodded thoughtfully and remained silent for a few moments. Though she was looking in his direction, Tony realized that she wasn't exactly looking at him but at a point right above his head. She obviously tried to avoid eye contact.

"Tony," she finally resumed the conversation, "do you know what happened afterwards? You know, after…"  
"We kissed? I… don't know, Ziva. I can't recall anything."

Tony didn't know why he was lying now. It was true that he couldn't remember what exactly had happened but what he did know was that there had been two empty wine bottles in his bedroom the day after and he was sure by now that it could only have been Ziva, who had drunk them with him.

He looked at her, finally able to lock his eyes with hers again. He could almost sense her confusion, her uncertainty and he realized that there was no way to prolong this any further. The truth would surface at some point anyway.

But as he was just about to tell her about it, Ziva started talking again and Tony realized that she seemed to be oddly relieved. She had leaned back into the cushions again, a shadow of a smile on her face.

"I do not recall anything exactly but I do remember taking the cab home alone. So we did really just drop you off on the way to my apartment then, yes?"

Tony almost impalpably shook his head and then said, only above a whisper, causing Ziva to lean slightly forward again,

"I don't think you did."

"What?"

Ziva's alarmed voice reached his ears and made his heart miss some beats. He realized now how deep in a mess they really were. It wasn't the fact that they had kissed because that was not that bad at all and as he came to think about it, it even made him smile. No, it was the fact that they had probably done something so incredibly stupid afterwards, that they would never be able to regain their formerly state of trust in each other again.

He didn't answer her now, only motioned her to follow him as he stood up. He made his way to his bedroom, opened the door and let her pass by.

"Does it look familiar to you?" He finally whispered, still not able to speak out loud.

He watched Ziva looking around, taking in his bed, taking in the walk-in closet. Her face didn't give anything away but as she took a look at the table in the corner, he was finally able to see her features tense up. She slowly walked over to the corner and sat down on one of the chairs.

"What have we done, Tony? What did we do?"

She held her head in her hands now and Tony slowly approached her, sitting down across from her. He carefully reached out his hand to her but before he could actually touch her, Ziva looked up again with an expression of mere exhaustion on her face…

-x-

"_Hey Ziva, red or white wine for you? I got both!"_

_Tony had just returned to his bedroom, two bottles in his hands and now leaned against the doorframe, trying to refrain from stumbling. He threw a look of inquiry at Ziva who had just sat down on a chair at the far end of the room. _

"_I do not care," she answered, smiling at him, "I drink both."  
"Okay then, both it is." _

_Tony chuckled and sat down beside her, carefully trying to open the red wine without spilling any of its content. Wondrously, it worked and he poured the wine into the glasses that were already standing on the table. _

"_Here's to a wonderful night," he said, tipping his glass to hers.  
"I drink to that," Ziva replied before she took a few sips._

"_You know, Ziva, I really like that you decided to come here with me. I mean, I haven't had so much fun on one single night in a very, very long time."  
"Well," she started, letting out a laugh. "Although it was really the cab driver's choice that I am here now, I am still glad I am."  
"Yeah, he was really mad at us, wasn't he? Just because we were…we were… Help me out, what were we doing, exactly?"_

_He smiled at her defiantly, repositioning his chair closer to hers, so that their face were merely inches apart. He couldn't help but breathe in her scent once again, couldn't help feeling it on his tongue, so sweet, so perfect. Her unique scent was mixed with the scent of red wine now but she still smelled, and Tony just couldn't find a better word to describe it, delicious._

"_Hmm," Ziva's voice brought him back into his bedroom, "it was maybe similar to this."_

_With that, she leaned into him once again, her lips caressing his until he gave in and parted his own a bit and only moments later, their tongues were exploring each other's mouths again. To Tony's delight, he could hear Ziva moan as he carefully sucked at her bottom lip and he leaned into her even further in order to deepen their kiss. They only broke apart when the need for air was frantic and Tony chuckled as he saw that Ziva blushed deeply under his glance. _

_As her hand glided to the hair at the back of his head, drawing him closer to her, he realized that she made him all tingly inside. As their lips touched again and Ziva's other hand trailed up and down his back, he had no choice but to notice that his jeans were getting tighter with every single one of Ziva's movements…_

-x-

Tony softly took Ziva's hand in his own over the table now, causing her to look at him again. He didn't quite know how to keep the conversation going. Hell, he didn't even know what to think about all of that. He tried to remember whether or not they actually had sex but to his utter dismay, he still couldn't.

Looking at Ziva, he realized that her thoughts must have gone to the same place as his. Despite her almost deadly paleness, her cheeks were slightly flushed, causing him to give her a weak smile. She ran her fingers through her hair now, clearly thinking hard.

"Do you think we did it?" She finally whispered downheartedly.

Tony sighed, once again thinking back to that fateful night but still was not able to retrieve any information. He couldn't help but to notice a weird feeling of disappointment inside of him. Ziva seemed to be so shocked of the mere notion of having slept with him that it made him cringe internally.  
Had it actually just been the alcohol that had made her kiss him and nothing else? Had it just been her breakup with Mr. Miami-Candy that had made her act the way she did? Had he just been the rebound after all?  
Wasn't there more to him than that?

"Would it be really that bad, if we did?"

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**A/N: Thoughts? Suggestions? Reviews? Please? :-D**


	11. Rebounds

**A/N: So, after a long thought about this next chapter, I've finally figured out where exactly to take this. It has been kind of hard for me to write that chapter for reasons even unknown to me... I still hope you like it and leave a review on your way out.**

**Thanks to all that have reviewed that last chapter, as always they made my day :)**

**I might want to add, that this chapter should probably be rated M, but there is nothing too graphic, I guess ;-)**

**Have fun!**

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_**Chapter Eleven: Rebounds**_

"_Would it be really that bad, if we did?"_

The words hung in the air for a few moments before Tony even realized what he had just said. He suddenly jerked back so hard that the chair he was sitting on made a nasty cracking noise. As he was sure that he was not falling off of it, he looked back at Ziva, who had still said nothing. Tony could see her blush slightly again and it seemed like she was thinking fast. He still didn't know why he had asked her about that. But her hesitation to answer his question made the feeling of disappointment in his gut even worse now. It took a few more moments for the silent message that Ziva was sending him, to sink in.

"So, I guess, it really would be that bad," Tony finally stated, standing up and beginning to pace around in his bedroom.

He couldn't bring himself to look at her. He was on the edge of running away from her but thought better of it, as he was in his apartment. She had got to go, not him. This time it hadn't been him to create the mess. This time it was both of their faults and Tony knew that Ziva knew that, too.

He was still deeply buried in thoughts about how to sort out this mess as Ziva suddenly had stood up and walked over to him, making him stop dead in his tracks.

"No," she started, "that is not what I meant. I… I just do not know whether or not it is bad, Tony. I just do not know, okay?"

"Okay," Tony slowly answered and sat down again.

He didn't quite know what to make out of that answer. It could mean nothing and it could mean anything to him. But knowing Ziva that was all he was going to get. At least for the time being.

He watched her sitting down on the other chair, absent-mindedly playing with a loose strand of her curly hair. She looked around in his bedroom again, obviously trying to retrieve any hidden information from the room. As her look fell upon his nightstand, she smiled, before she walked over and picked up a framed picture.

"Is there any particular reason why you have a picture of McGee, Gibbs, Abby and me on your nightstand?"

Tony stared at her, just realizing something. His goggling caused Ziva to slightly smile at him again and she eyed him suspiciously.

"What?" She asked curiously.

"You have asked me that before."

-x-

"_Is there any particular reason why you have a picture of McGee, Gibbs, Abby and me on your nightstand?"_

_Ziva was bending down in order to pick up the picture that stood on his nightstand facing his bed. Tony couldn't help but blush slightly. No one of the team should have ever seen that that picture was standing there, that it was the last thing he usually saw before closing his eyes at night. It was the one from last Christmas that Abby had insisted they should take. The whole team had to pose for it and even though Tony had found it slightly ridiculous at the time, he knew that he and the rest of team were never able to resist Abby in anything, so they had let her take one. As Abby had given it to him a few weeks later, he couldn't help but to admit that he loved the picture. They were all smiling, even Gibbs, and the picture was just so… so cozy, so full of love that Tony had it immediately framed._

"'Cause it might look suspicious if there was only a picture of you there." _Tony thought but was determined not to let that fact slip._

"_Well," he finally started, "I just like having people that I… that I care about around me. Even when I can't actually be with them, you know."_

_He could feel his cheeks burning up again, for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night. He quickly looked away from her and sat down on the chair again. He busied himself opening the other wine bottle, although he could see that they hadn't emptied the first one._

_He slightly jumped as he could feel Ziva's hand on his shoulder again. He hadn't heard her coming over to him. _

Damn ninja skills.

"_I think that is awfully sweet of you," Ziva said unexpectedly, causing his cheeks to redden even more. _

_Tony looked up at her again and saw her smiling so broadly that his heart stuttered and his pulse quickened again. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, making her sit on his lap. He ran his fingers through her hair again, still savoring in the warmth that she was giving him. Right at that moment, she bent down and kissed him again. _

_This time the passion, the need to feel her all over him, was replaced by something different that Tony couldn't really place. He thought it might be affection after all.  
As soon as he had realized that fact, he quickly ended the kiss. This was so not the time to think about stuff like that. _

_He could feel Ziva's eyes on him but didn't react to it. Instead, he picked up the bottle again and poured the wine into their glasses. It wasn't until Ziva let out a laugh that he really paid attention to what he was doing. He had poured white wine into the glasses that still held the red one._

"_You know," Ziva started, still laughing. "This reminds me of a movie."_

"_What?" Tony looked at her slightly taken aback._

_This was his line after all._

"_Yes," Ziva replied, winking at him. "You know the one with Jennifer Aniston and that cute little ferret?"_

"_Along came Polly, yeah," Tony answered, finally being able to recall the movie scene, "I'm really proud of you, Ziva David, for outsmarting the movie buff that I am."_

_Ziva chuckled softly before she caught his lips with hers and Tony totally forgot about everything they had just been talking about. Ziva attempted to deepen the kiss now and Tony let her, once again throwing all caution to the winds._

_He lifted her up now and to his delight, he could feel Ziva's legs entangle around his waist. He was about to carry her to his bed as a sound of breaking glass caught his attention. He looked around and realized that he had just broken one of the glasses on the table with his elbow brushing it off of the table. He debated to pick up the pieces but decided to just let them be. He could still clean up afterwards…_

_He kissed Ziva again, before laying her down on his bed. He tilted his head to look closely at her to see whether she had any objections but she just smiled alluringly at him. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him on top of her, once again kissing him. She attempted to unbutton his shirt but seemed to fail miserably. Just as Tony decided to help her out, she just ripped off the shirt, causing the buttons to fly in every direction._

"_Easy tigress," Tony chuckled but Ziva didn't seem to pay his words any attention. _

_Tony took the hint and busied himself to take her shirt off in return. As he could see Ziva's black bra, he could almost feel his brain shutting down. His lips lost hers and he kissed his way down from her neck to her breasts, while he unclasped her bra._

_For the last time, his drunken and foggy mind seemed to give him a shout and he stopped for a short moment, before he looked up at Ziva again._

"_Are you sure this is a good idea?"_

"_No, not at all," Ziva replied, "but we cannot help it, yes?"_

"_No, we can't," Tony replied before he picked up his action again…_

-x-

Tony stopped talking now, seeing that Ziva seemed to remember now, too. What he couldn't stop though, were his thoughts. Memories kept on showing up in his minds like film clips.

_Her hands on his back. She nipping at his earlobes. His hands on her breast, his lips sucking at her nipples. The butterflies in his stomach, when she touched him the first time. The scent of her lingering on his tongue, on his lips. She moaning his name as he took her over the edge. The relief that he was feeling when he released himself into her. His arms around her waist as he was about to fall asleep._

Ziva had become pale once again. Tony was sure now that she remembered everything now, just like he did. Ziva sat down on his bed now, obviously unsure whether she would be able to stand anymore.

Tony had known that they had probably been sleeping together before, but now that he knew for sure, he was feeling slightly dumbfounded. He didn't know what to do or what to say to her. His mind didn't help him either, as he could still see flashes of a naked Ziva in his bed before his inner eye.

He cleared his throat now, trying to buy him some more time to think. But as he was still searching for the right words, Ziva suddenly stood up, clearly attempting to leave him behind. But he had anticipated that. He quickly sprang up and tucked at her elbow, making her turn around to look at him.

"Don't you run out of me now," he said a little too strongly.

But it worked. Ziva stopped dead in her tracks and faced him again. Their faces were merely inches apart now and Tony once again was able to feel the warmth that was radiating from her. He stared into her brown eyes now, not wanting to let go off her.

He knew that they would need to talk. And soon. If Ziva left now, they would just prolong this whole situation and Tony couldn't see how that was supposed to help. But still, he couldn't think of a way to start the conversation again. So he just remained staring at her, holding on to her elbow, waiting.

Finally, Ziva blinked again and then looked away from his face. She walked over to his bed once again and sat down.

"What do we do now?" She asked only above a whisper.

Tony sat down beside her, still pondering about what to say to her.

"I honestly don't know, Ziva. I mean, what's done is done. Obviously. The question now is how to continue. You know, with us. Shall we pretend that it never happened or face the situation and make the best out of it?"

"The best?" Ziva asked, "And what do you think is the best?"

"I don't know, Ziva, can't we figure that out together?"

Ziva remained silent for a few moments. She seemed to be very interested in her hands that were fidgeting with her pants.

"Is it really the worst thing that ever happened to you, Ziva?" Tony finally started, having made up his mind.

"No, it is not. It is just… this is so not the way…," Ziva trailed off, still staring at her hands.

"This is so not the way, what, Zi? So not the way it was supposed to happen? Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, I have waited a long time for this to happen. Kind of. You know, I've been thinking about you, about us for a while now without even realizing it. And now that it has happened, I'm not so sure what to do with it. I really wish it would have happened when we both were sober. Hell, I even wish that I could remember all of it. But we can't change that anymore. It has happened. And so, here we are. We have to figure this out. Figure us out, before anyone gets hurt or …"

Tony trailed off, not sure if he said too much or not. He realized that he had basically just let his guard down. Let his guard down about his feeling towards her. But as he looked at Ziva now, she still didn't give anything away. She just stared at him, her mouth slightly hanging open.

But then, she suddenly stood up again and without another look at him, she left his bedroom and only a few moments later, Tony could hear the front door close behind her.

Leaving him behind with a feeling of utter disappointment, a feeling of hurt inside his heart that threatened to rip him apart.

So, he had been the rebound after all, hadn't he?

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**A/N: Thoughts? Reviews? :-D**


	12. A shield and treacherous spruce

**A/N: Ah, while I'm still not sure whether or not I liked the last episode Tiva-wise, I've written another chapter xD **

**I hope you like it and review on your way out :)**

**defying gravity23**

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_**Chapter Twelve: A shield and treacherous spruce**_

Tony didn't even bother to undress himself. He just sank back onto his bed, his arms crossed behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He wasn't exactly sure what to think at the moment. He wasn't even sure whether he was sad, disappointed or angry. He just didn't know.

He lay there, staring into air for what could have been hours and he still had no clue what to think about the situation he was in. He knew that Ziva would have to talk to him at some point but he also knew her well enough to know she was good at hiding, at running away.

He sighed and tucked himself in, trying to get some sleep. Maybe, but only maybe everything would be looking different in the morning…

-x-

_Tony took a deep breath and was able to smell the faint scent of Ziva's shampoo. He wasn't exactly sure but thought it to be coconut. He gently pulled his arm around her waist and snuggled closer to her. Ziva didn't move, obviously she was already fast asleep. He straightened himself a bit so that he was able to see her face. _

_She looked utterly relaxed and Tony found himself thinking that she looked almost peaceful – and satisfied. He smiled to himself as he realized that he had been the one that had accomplished that. He carefully tucked a loose strand of her wild hair behind her left ear and once again her scent seemed to overwhelm his drunken mind. _

_He placed a soft kiss on her temple before he lay his head down again, closing his eyes. Before he finally drifted off to sleep, he thought to himself that he should get drunk with Ziva like that many, many times from now on._

_-x-_

_He was woken up as the warmth beside him had suddenly vanished. He cracked open one eye and saw Ziva stumbling through his bedroom, searching frantically for her clothes that seemed to lie everywhere._

"_What are you doing?" Tony asked groggily, finally opening the other eye._

_He looked around for his cell phone to look at the clock but couldn't find it anywhere._

"_I am going home, Tony. Go back to sleep. See you tomorrow at work."_

"_No. Ziva. Stay."_

_Tony was still trying to process everything that was going on at the moment. He wasn't really successful, though. He tried to sit up but his head was feeling like it weighed tons._

_Uh. Oh. The headache he'd have tomorrow. Tony blinked once again, reaching out a hand towards Ziva, who took it, raising an eyebrow._

"_Come on, stay here," he repeated._

_But Ziva just shook her head and placed a soft but lingering kiss on his cheek._

"_Cab. Gibbs. Work," she mumbled somewhat incomprehensibls before she left with one last look at him._

_Tony intended to cry after her but he had even trouble keeping his eyes open. He sighed and took a deep breath, still smelling her on his sheets, still smelling her all over him. He tried to hold onto her scent in his mind but he was already failing. He closed his eyes only for a moment…_

-x-

The next day, Tony was standing in the observation room together with McGee and Ziva, who hadn't said anything except for 'good morning' to him all day. Hell, she hadn't even looked at him.

"Do you think, he's done it?" McGee asked, pointing to the suspect, named Casey Sanders, that Gibbs was interrogating.

They had caught Sanders an hour previously as he was just about to board a plane to Canada. He had claimed that he had nothing to do with the ongoing murder investigation but of course, they had taken him in. He's had continuing differences with the dead marine and so he was the priority suspect in the case for now.

"I think he's guilty," Tony started, not looking away from the suspect. "I think he's got something to hide. Why else would he try to run away?"

McGee frowned, obviously unconvinced.

"What happened to your theory that the spouse is always the killer?"

"It still holds true. But there are the facts. One, Sanders tried to run. Two, he's quite obviously lying. Third, he doesn't even say why he wanted to go to Canada. Doesn't look that innocent to me, does he?"

Tony took a deep breath and realized just now that he had raised his voice without any reason. He took a quick glance at McGee who was still furrowing his brow but besides that, he seemed to be oblivious to Tony's inappropriate reaction. He dared to cast a look at Ziva's reflection in the window and saw that she had her arms crossed before her chest, piercing him with one of her withering stares.

Tony balled his hands to fists. No, he would say no more.

"And that is where you are wrong, Tony," Ziva suddenly chimed in, "because you are too ignorant to look beyond the surface. Yes, he is lying. But he has nothing to do with the murder, I am sure. He is just trying to hide something, something that he might be afraid to show. Something that he does not want us, the world, to know."

Tony turned around now to face Ziva and for the first time that day, she didn't look away. Instead, she was glaring angrily at him, her hands on her hips.

"Oh yeah?" Tony retorted, not anymore caring that he was shouting now.  
"And what might that be? I still think he has killed our marine. We have enough evidence to send him to prison, unless he'll give us something to work with. Not every one of us, Zee-vah, can read minds like you do. Some people need words, you know."

He stared Ziva right in the eyes now, not caring that McGee was still standing there, not caring that he had shouted loud enough that probably even Gibbs had heard him in the other room. He just wanted her to know what he was thinking right now. He wanted her to know that he didn't appreciate her running away from facing the truth.

She remained silent for a few moments, obviously collecting herself for another round but as she was about to open her mouth, McGee was suddenly standing between them with both hands raised.

"Whoa, guys," he said, looking from Ziva to Tony and back to Ziva. "What's going on? What did I miss?"

Tony averted his gaze from Ziva's eyes and pulled down one of McGee's hands.

"Nothing's going on, McNosy," he snapped at him and without another look at Ziva, he left the observation room.

-x-

As he returned to the office an hour later, he had already blown off some steam driving around in his car. He knew that he had probably aggravated the situation even more by shouting at her and even worse by shouting at her for all the world to hear. But he just hadn't been able to stop himself.

As disappointed as he had been the night before in his bedroom when she had left him, as angry had he been at her in the observation room. He just couldn't help it. He knew that while he was sometimes only talking to make sounds, he was usually not one to talk about his feelings. But he had done so the night before and he had wanted Ziva to talk to him, too.

It would have even been sufficient for her to say that it didn't mean anything to her or whatever. It would have broken Tony's heart and he knew that but it would at least have been fair to him. But running away was not fair and even he didn't deserve that.

-x-

"You okay, Tony?" McGee asked, as Tony sat down at his desk.

"Fine, McGee," he just said before looking around, noticing an absent Gibbs and Ziva.  
"Where are the others?"

"Gibbs is at the director's office and Abby just ringed Ziva a second ago to come visit her in the lab."

"Oh, okay. You know what, Tim, I'll make a quick stop at Abby's, too. I, uh, have to ask her something."

"Sure," McGee said, grinning slyly at him.

-x-

Tony knew pretty damn well that McGee suspected the right thing but he couldn't care less. He wanted, no, he needed to talk to Ziva as soon as possible before things would get out of hand. He wasn't exactly sure what to tell her but he knew that certain things needed to be said. He wouldn't let one drunken night come between them. Not that drunken night that was supposedly the beginning of something more. He needed her to listen to him, he needed her to talk to him, whatever it might cost him.

While he was still internally discussing how to corner Ziva the best way, he had arrived at Abby's lab. He was about to enter, as Ziva and Abby's voices reached his ears. Tony stopped dead in his tracks and listened to their conversation.

"Abby, I am really sorry that I have lost your collar the other night. I know I promised you to take special care of it but the night has just been crazy and I have lost it anyway. I am so sorry but I bought you a new one."

"What are you talking about, Ziva?" Tony heard Abby's confused voice.

"Your dog collar, Abby. Remember, you gave it to me at the club?"

-x-

"_Now promise me, Ms. David, that you will behave tonight," Abby giggled, while pulling Ziva in a big bear hug._

"_I solemnly swear that I will," Ziva laughed, saluting to her friend, while holding on the counter in order not to sway._

"_Okay, then. I believe you," Abby replied, "however, I will give you this."_

_Abby meddled with the clasp of her collar before she opened it and then wrapped it twice around Ziva's wrist._

"_And you will only take this off, if you've found a guy tonight who's worth it, understood?"_

_Ziva laughed now but nodded._

"_I will give it to you tomorrow then, I promise," she said._

-x-

"Ziva, are you sure you're not imagining things?"

"Yes, I am sure. Why?"

Ziva sounded utterly confused now. Tony dared to move a few steps forward, so he could see the two women standing there, facing each other.

"Well, because you haven't lost it. I mean, I have my collar. Tony gave it to me the other day. He said, he had found it in his bed and…"

Abby suddenly stopped talking and stared at Ziva with big eyes.

Tony felt his insides freeze. How could he have forgotten about that damn collar? How could he have been so stupid?

Ziva had remained silent, obviously stunned by Abby's remarks. She just, not unlike Tony, who was still standing safely hidden behind the mass spec, kept on staring at Abby.

And then, Tony could almost see the truth dawning on Abby as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"Ziva, does this mean, what I think it means? Does it mean…You and Tony?"

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**A/N: Last missing piece, right? ;-)**

**Thoughts? Complaints? Reviews? Please?**


	13. Interventions and Tequilas Talking

**A/N: Thank you guys for your continuous reviews! :) I hurried to get this chapter posted as I'll probably be busy the next few days ;-)  
I hope you like it and keep reviewing :)**

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_**Chapter Thirteen: Interventions and Tequilas Talking**_

"_Ziva, does this mean, what I think it means? Does it mean… You and Tony?"_

Tony inched forward in order to get a closer look at the two of them now. Abby was still standing there, the new collar in her hand, with wide eyes that stared at Ziva, who had slightly bowed her head.

"Ziva?" Abby asked again.

The little ninja stood there frozen for a few more moments until she finally met Abby's gaze. Then, she nodded.

"Oh my god," Abby squeaked, almost jumping up and down and a broad smile appeared on her face.

She gave Ziva a tight hug before she sized her up from head to toe, as she realized that her friend hadn't moved a muscle.

"You don't look happy," she finally stated, the expression on her face changing from happy to confused.

Ziva remained silent, furrowing a brow. Tony looked closely at her now for the first time that day and realized that she wasn't exactly looking healthy. She had dark circles around her eyes and her usually golden skin seemed to somehow have less color.

"He still doesn't remember, then?" Abby asked, sitting down and motioned Ziva to do the same.

Ziva obliged, putting her head onto her hands, staring seemingly into space.

"No," she finally said, "he does remember. Oh, he does remember well."

"So, what's the problem then?"

"I do not know, Abby. This is so… wasted."

"I think, you mean messed up," Abby chuckled, "but you were indeed wasted that night."

"Not helping, Abby."

"Sorry. But I don't see the problem. It's not like this comes as a total surprise. You two were destined to… you know."

"What? We were destined to get drunk and sleep together in such a stupor that we both needed days to recollect all the details? And you are seriously asking me what the problem is?"

"Yeah, well… Ziva, what is so bad about it all? And don't tell me it's because you don't like him because I know, the world knows, even Gibbs knows, you do. And if you say one word about Rule Number 12, I'll never talk to you again because not even Gibbs has always abided by it."  
Abby paused for a few moments, then continued.  
"Wait… you're not pregnant, are you?"

"What?" Ziva asked irritated, obviously baffled by Abby's rant. "No, I am on the pill."

Tony released a breath, he hadn't known he had been holding. He hadn't even thought about that possibility to be honest. He had just figured that they would have talked about it and he just didn't remember.

He also knew that he shouldn't still be standing there, eavesdropping on their private conversation but he just couldn't help it. He still didn't understand why Ziva had reacted the way she had and he hoped that she would maybe confide in Abby after all.

"So?" Abby probed.

"Well, Abby," Ziva started hesitantly, "you know him. He is irresponsible, childish and… This is what he is doing all the time. Go out, get drunk, pick up a girl and then sleep with her. Why should this be any different? Why should I be any different?"

"Because you're not just some girl, Ziva," Tony said calmly, finally stepping forward, so they could see him.

Ziva and Abby turned around quickly, staring at him and in Ziva's case blushing furiously but nevertheless throwing him a deadly stare.

"How long have you been standing there?" Abby finally asked.

"Long enough to know what a selfish and irresponsible jerk I am."

Tony stared at Ziva now, locking eyes with her, not knowing if he was angry, hurt or sad. He just stood there, waiting for her to say something. Anything. But the words never came.

"Okay then," Tony finally pressed out, noticing his insides freeze, "message sent, Ziva."

With that, he turned around and intended to storm out of Abby's lab but then, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. He turned around again and saw Abby running after him, an expression of utter disbelief on her face.

"You're not going anywhere. You need to sort this out. Now."

Abby looked from Ziva to Tony and then walked out the door. Seconds later, Tony was able to hear the key turning in the lock.

_Great. _

He rolled his eyes but nevertheless turned around and crossed his arms in front of his chest, staring at Ziva who was still sitting there motionless.

They remained staring at each other for a few more moments that seemed like an eternity to Tony but Ziva still refused to talk to him. Was she really thinking that he had just used her? How could she even think so? He had already kind of told her that that night had been special to him. He didn't get it. How was he the bad guy in that mess now? What was she even talking about? Hadn't she been the one that had used him to get over Mr. Miami? How had they even ended up here, silently fighting?

"So, you don't want to talk? That's bad luck because I think that Abby won't let us out of here before we do. So, might as well get it over with."

Ziva didn't even blink at his statement. Tony began wandering up and down Abby's lab now, searching for a way to organize his thoughts.

"Okay then," Tony started again, feeling frustration boiling up inside of him. "I'll get going. What is wrong with you exactly? You just talked like it was all my idea, all my fault. Like I drugged you to get you into bed. But if I'm not mistaken, it was _you_ who put her hands on my waist the first time while we were dancing. It was _you_ who started the talk about the body shots. It was _you _who insisted to share a cab. It was _you_ who kissed me senseless in my bedroom. I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy all those things because I did. Really. But… What have I done wrong? What is so wrong with all of this that you refuse to talk to me? What is it, Ziva?"

Tony took a deep breath, trying to remain calm and failing miserably. Ziva still hadn't said anything. She had, however, broken their eye contact and had started shifting uncomfortably on her chair.

"Tony," she finally found her voice, causing Tony to stop pacing.  
"There is so much we should have considered. Work. Gibbs. Rule Number 12."

Tony looked at her again, feeling his anger reaching unknown heights. He wasn't even sure why he was so mad at her at that moment.

"I don't freaking care about Gibbs, Ziva," he shouted now, unable to hold himself back anymore. "Do you hear me? I don't freaking care! So stop pretending this is about work or Gibbs or anything. What the hell is really going on?"

Ziva suddenly stood up then and approached him. As she was standing merely inches away from him, she stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him. Tony could almost see her collecting the words.

He took a deep breath in order to finally calm down and wondrously it seemed to work. He didn't know what it was that did the trick, Ziva's pleading eyes or the short distance between them but he was actually getting a little less angry. He drew another breath and was able to smell the faint scent of her perfume again.

"So, you really meant all that you said?" Ziva finally asked.

"Right now?" Tony asked confused, not sure what she was driving at exactly.

"No, the other night, Tony. You know, after we… you know."

"I'm not entirely sure what you are talking about," he stated, trying to read her expression.

"You do not remember? The talk we had before we fell asleep? About Robert, about us?" Ziva whispered now, dropping her gaze.

-x-

_As Tony's pulse was finally going down to a relatively normal pace, he lay back in his bed and pulled an arm around Ziva in order to pull her closer to him. She obliged immediately and snuggled into him. Her head was now resting on his chest and Tony couldn't help but play with her hair._

_Even in his drunken stupor, he realized that this was easily the greatest night in what seemed forever. She was finally in his arms. He had finally kissed her, made love to her…_

"_You know, Ziva, this is really nice."_

"_Oh, yes?" She said teasingly._

"_Oh yeah. Really, really nice. You have no idea how long I've waited for this to happen."_

"_I take it, it is the tequila that is speaking now?"_

"_Oh what is that saying? A drunken mind always speaks the truth? It's true. This night has been awesome. You have been awesome. I really wish we could do that more often, you know."_

"_Are you serious?"_

"_As a heart attack. Truth to be told, I was going crazy over your Miami guy."_

_Tony stopped talking for a few moments, wondering if it was wise to tell her about his… his feelings. But then, he realized that they had shown each other so much tonight that it didn't matter anymore. Plus, he was, after all, so drunk that he would have told her anything, if she'd just asked._

"_It drove me nuts, not knowing whether or not you were romantically interested in him. And that was not about being protective or anything. I've just been jealous, Ziva. Yeah, I admit it, I was freaking jealous."_

"_I know," Ziva replied, trailing patterns on his chest with her index finger. "But you were not the only one being jealous. I have lied to you before. Robert did not break up with me because of the long distance thing. He… he broke up with me because he was jealous of you, about all the time we spend together. And as he asked me to tell him that there was nothing between the two of us, I could not say no."_

"_Huh," Tony just mumbled, not sure how to answer to that._

"_You know what is good about all the shots of tequila, though?" Ziva said, her tone suddenly much lighter. "We will probably not remember any of this tomorrow."_

"_Oh," Tony chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "I would never forget about this"_

_

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_**A/N: Thoughts? ;)**_  
_


	14. Introductions and Pools

**A/N: Aaahh, here I am again at the end of another story...**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this thingy as much as I enjoyed writing it :)**

**Thank you guys for your awesome reviews along the way. Can't say how much I appreciated every single one of them :) Thank you!**

**I hope you like that last chapter :)  
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_**Chapter Fourteen: Introductions and Pools**_

"See? I didn't forget about it. Almost," Tony said, giving her a lopsided grin that he hoped would smooth things over a bit.

Ziva snorted and slightly shook her head. The expression on her face, however, had softened up the tiniest of fractions. Tony realized that this could easily be the only chance he would get and locked eyes with her again, trying to read them but for once he was not able to retrieve any information.

"To answer your question, Ziva, yes, I do remember and yes, I also meant all that I said to you."

There it was, he had said it. The ball was in her court now and it was her turn to say something. Anything. But yet again, as Tony remained staring into her brown eyes, Ziva just stood there, equally staring at him – but nothing else. She didn't even blink. Tony wasn't even sure whether she was actually breathing.

"Ziva," he finally started again. "Talk to me. Please?"

He hadn't meant to sound so begging, so vulnerable but he just couldn't help it. He knew that if they messed this up even more, if they wouldn't find the common thread, they would never stand a chance again. Neither as partner, nor as friends, nor as lovers. If they would get out of Abby's lab without having had the talk, they would a) probably be killed by Abby and b) he would have to transfer to someplace else. He knew one thing for sure and that was that he wouldn't be able to live with the humiliation, with the hurt, if she would just walk away now…

"So," Ziva finally said, causing Tony to let out a sigh of relief.

"So?"

"You said that you were serious about this?"

"Yeah."

"Then, what do you want me to say? What am I supposed to say?"

"I'm dying to know what you are really thinking about all of this, Ziva. You know, 'carpe diem'… 'gather ye rosebuds while ye may'."

"You know Robert Herrick?" Ziva asked, surprise and maybe even awe mirroring on her face.

"Yes, I do… I mean, kind of. I watched _Dead Poets Society_," he said almost apologetically.

Ziva let out a laugh and then something similar to an actual smile spread on her face.

"To be honest, Tony," Ziva said now, her tone serious, "I do not know exactly what I am thinking about all of this. I admit that you were always… special to me in ways that I could not always explain, even to myself. I also admit that Robert had his reasons for being jealous of you because I am… attached to you very much."

Tony smiled a smile so huge that it threatened to split his face in half. His heart rate was accelerating and he was sure that Ziva must have heard his pulse as it seemed to be as loud as thunder in his ears. For a short moment, he broke their eye contact and gathered her left hand in his larger one, softly stroking it with his thumb. To his relief, she didn't back away then, instead she actually leaned into his touch a little more.

"Tony," Ziva started again after a little while. "I am sorry for my behavior the last couple of days. I just did not know how to react to this."

"It's alright," Tony reassured her, despite the anger that had been broiling inside of him only minutes ago.

"And I get it. This is quite a mess where we're in right now. But I'm willing to, you know, clean it up."

"Rule Number Forty-five," Ziva replied.

"Exactly."

Ziva smirked at him and then sat down on the ground leaning against a wall of the lab. Tony quickly followed suit, sitting down beside her as close as it was possible without actually touching her.

-x-

"So… how exactly do we sort this out now?" Ziva broke the silence that had hung in the air for several minutes after they had been sitting down.

"Well," Tony started hesitantly, "I want you to know that I don't regret anything. That night… has been special to me. But you already know that. It's just… I wish that it would have happened differently. You know, sober? But then again, I'm thinking that we might have never been able to do… you know, this."

Ziva nodded almost solemnly, clearly absorbed in her own thoughts.

"You are probably right. We never were exactly good at communicating, yes? However, this was just not the way to start things. We should have talked about it first, thought about it first."

"Yeah, I totally agree," Tony chimed in, "we should have gone out to a date or something first. I agree. But well, we got carried away the other night and I suppose the tequilas helped a lot, too. But what's done is done, right? We can't change that anymore. What we can do, though, is to make the best out of this, right? I know I've said that before but I still think it's true. So… Why not start over?"

"Start over? What do you mean?"

Tony grinned slyly at her, his spirits animal high by now. He reached out his right hand to shake hers.

"Hi, may I introduce myself? I'm Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. I'm ridiculously handsome but also modest," he gave her a big smile before he continued. "And you seem like a very nice, pretty girl."

Ziva laughed now, meeting his eyes again.

"Well, my name is Ziva David. I am a former Mossad agent slash assassin but I am now a Special Agent myself. Or - as one 'very special' person always says – I am a ninja. Nice to meet you, Anthony."

He let his smile flash.

-x-

Tony noticed just now that he was still holding her hand. But he didn't let go of it just yet, instead he softly squeezed it, causing Ziva to slightly blush again.

"No, seriously, Ziva. Let's go out to an actual date tonight, alright? No drinks, no Miami-Candies, no misplaced dog collars, no history or whatever. Just the two of us, enjoying a nice dinner. How does that sound?"

"Pretty good," Ziva said, smiling.

"Okay, it's a date, then."

"Uh, Tony… One more thing. What do we say to the others? I mean, Abby already knows and I am sure that McGee knows by now, too."

"Well," Tony answered hesitantly, "I don't know. Tell them the truth? It can't get any worse anyway, right?"

"That is actually true," Ziva chuckled but then she became more serious and added, "and Gibbs?"

"You know what, Ziva? I don't care. I really don't care. I mean, I respect the guy and he's, you know, the closest thing to a father that I've ever known but even he's not impeccable. Not all of his rules apply to every single one of us. And I guess, he already knows. Or at least, he knows that something's up because he's Gibbs and Gibbs always knows."

"Okay."

-x-

They sat there in silence for a few moments with Tony absent-mindedly tracing patterns with his thumb on her hand. He knew that they would have a long and probably winding road in front of them. But he really wanted to make it right this time.

He knew that they would probably fight a lot, would annoy the hell out of each other but he had known her for almost six years now and he knew what made her tick, so he was confident that they would be able to make it work.

He also knew that having had drunken sex was not the best way to start a relationship but by now he didn't care anymore. After all, they were sitting there now, holding hands and finally being honest with each other. That was something that they hadn't accomplished before. So maybe this had been exactly what they had needed…

He smiled to himself as he realized that Abby had probably known all of that as she had locked them in her lab. After all, it was Abby, Ms. Feelings herself, and she had always been able to sense whenever Tony had something important on his mind…

Thinking of Abby…

"Hey, do you think we'll ever get out of here?" He asked, once again looking at his little ninja.

"I do not know," Ziva smiled, "she has to open that door at some point, yes?"

"I guess. So what do we do in the meantime?"

"Ah," Ziva grinned at him, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "Do you kiss on the first date, Agent DiNozzo?"

"I don't know. Is this even a date, Ms. David?"

"Hmm… we are here alone. We are talking about personal things. We are holding hands. Yes, I believe that is a date."

"Okay, then my answer is 'yes'."

With one last smile, Tony leaned forward and met her lips. In contrast to the kisses that they had shared the other night, this one was lacking the passion, the lust. It was almost reluctant and soft but still full of affection for each other.

Just as Tony leaned into her even more in order to deepen the kiss, he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. Groaning, he let go of her lips and pulled out the phone. As he looked at the caller ID, he couldn't help but to let out a laugh. How did he do this?

"See? I told you the man always knows when anything is going on."

With one last look at Ziva, he answered the phone.

"Yes, Boss?"

"Where the hell are you? I need you in the office five minutes ago."

"Uh, Boss? There's a problem. I'm currently locked in Abby's lab. So is Ziva. I think you have to persuade Abby first to let us out of here."

"Huh," Gibbs just said before he ended the phone call.

Ziva only raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. A few minutes passed in silence, with Tony still holding on to Ziva's hand with their eyes locked, before the door finally opened and a rather disgruntled Gibbs, accompanied by an ecstatic looking Abby, appeared in the lab.

As both of their glances fell upon the two agents, sitting there on the floor, grinning like two madmen, their reactions could not have been any different. While Abby let out a squeak, grinning from ear to ear, Gibbs only sized them up, looking stern.

"Do you need a crane to lift you up or are you able to get up now and do your damn work?"

Tony jumped up immediately with Ziva mirroring his action beside him. They strolled out the lab without looking at Gibbs. They would get their Gibbs-slaps in time, Tony was sure about that. They stepped into the elevator and Ziva took his hand again.

Just as the door slid shut, they could hear Gibbs' hushed voice.

"So, who's won the pool?"

"I think it's Ducky," Abby answered, giggling.

-x-

Tony looked at Ziva, who had furrowed her brow, before starting to laugh so hard that she couldn't help but join in.

Hell yeah, they had it a long time coming, hadn't they?

_-The End-_

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**A/N: Was that any good? Would love some reviews :)**

**Oh, and thanks again! ;-)  
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